You can shop for high quality sustainable produce, meat, bread, plants, flowers, etc at Chicago's Green City Market and enjoy a sumptuous picnic at the same time. Go to Lincoln Park along Clark Street and stop opposite the Ramada Inn which is just south of the intersection where Lincoln Av begins. Market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7AM to 1:30PM.
Vella Cafe offers terrific panini (those squished down hot and yummy Italian sandwiches) made in its own special press 
which is brought along to the park by owners Sara Voden and Melissa Yen. The menu changes weekly. Recent choices included purple asparagus, carmelized onion spread and herbed goat cheese or thyme roasted cremini mushrooms with Rothkase gruyere and mustard mayo both on organic bread from Red Hen Bread. (You simply must try this bread if you haven't already!) Market producers are used by Vella whenever possible, guaranteeing freshness and fine flavor. I watched as Sara performed a mind reading act on a polite young man of about 6 who with obvious relief accepted her offer of an off the menu plain grilled cheese. Frittatas and crepes are also available so you can choose to breakfast or lunch at the well-situated Green City Market tables that give you a choice of sun or shade.
(Vella is the name of Sara's cat, Greek for Sail.) Catering is also available. vellacafe.com or 773.732.3045.
If you're in the mood for pizza, try those made by Lisa and Michael Farrell of Hansel and Gretel's Catering. Their wood-fired oven makes it all possible.
Other snacks available too. Just look around.
If you're lucky you may run into Judith Schad (woman at right in adjoining photo) of Capriole, Inc.,maker of prize winning goat cheeses. She and her husband Larry moved from Louisville KY to 
an 80 acre farm in the rolling hills of southern Indiana in 1978, discovering to their astonishment that the same land had belonged to Larry's great-great grandfather in 1870. They began making cheeses in 1982 and today, after years of very hard work have a herd of 400 dairy goats, enabling them to produce 500-700 pounds of fresh, ripened and aged cheeses every week! The cheese is sold at many gourmet locations around the country including a limited selection at Whole Foods in Chicago but it's fun to meet Judith herself, a raconteur extraordinaire. She'll explain the special qualities of each cheese (they make 8 or 10 different varieties), provide tastes, recipes, storage tips, etc. Access www.capriolegoatcheese.com and click on "order" to buy direct. The cheeses are very special!
Another midsummer purveyor is Traders Point Creamery from Zionsville Indiana. They just won the American Cheese Institute's first prize as the best yogurt producer in the whole country! Their delicious whole milk yogurt is also available locally at Whole Foods, Fox and Obel, Goddess and Grocer in Wicker Park and at Stanley's. You can access their website at www.tpforganics.com
If you can't park on Clark St. (the turnover is pretty rapid), discount parking for $3.00 is available in the lot at the south end of Lincoln Park.
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