Food & Travel...

Whether you’re hitting the grill with kebob skewer and meat in hand, or a planning a more refined wine and cheese picnic this weekend, consider taking the party to a rooftop. An added bonus: eating on the roof, you’re that much closer to the fireworks.

In a city like New York, where outdoor space is hard to come by, some lucky residents have found a way to eat al fresco on their roofs. The New York Times chronicled the rooftop eating experience this week. “Partygoers on roofs enjoying glasses of cabernet and grilled burgers, cheerful voices drifting into the air above soot-covered air ducts, water towers, and crumbling brick chimneys.” Sounds like an idea Fourth of July party to me.

There are hazards to dining so high up, of course, it’s a pain to get cases of wine or loads of burger patties to the roof, gusts of wind can send napkins flying, rain or thunderstorms might make an ugly appearance. But, if you are so lucky as to head to your roof for a bar-b-que or otherwise this Fourth, here are some tips from the New Yorkers who’ve perfected the art:

1.      If you can have wine and food delivered, or enlist the help of friends to get things from ground floor to roof.

2.      Use propane in the grill instead of charcoal, because, as Randy Davison points out “you don’t want to have hot charcoal raining down on your neighbors.” Better yet, make sure it’s legal to have a grill up on the roof at all.

3.      If you’re cooking in the kitchen and transporting it up the stairs, do preparation, like carving meat, first to reduce the risk of losing the entire dinner if you trip.

Photo of a yummy Fourth of July food from Disney.