Taste Globally, Picnic Locally

PERSIAN

Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades and Burton W. Chace Park in Marina del Rey draw Persian picnickers almost any time the weather's fine. It's charming to see the older generation coming to a picnic on the grass in formal wear - men in dark suits, and the women wearing dresses, scarves and stockings, even in the heat of summer. A cloth is spread on the lawn or table, and there's likely to be a ceramic vase holding a bouquet of fresh flowers. Meals aren't opulent, but rice cookers are in evidence and kebabs sizzle on the park barbecues. a

With Persians, almost anything travels to a picnic, and eating it at room temperature is acceptable. The best Persian takeout on the Westside can be found at Kabob Korner. Good bets: shirazi salad of diced tomato and cucumber; Kashk-Badenjan, a rich, smooth, roasted eggplant dip; cornish hen kabob; chicken breast salad; and many vegetable wrap sandwiches. Open Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. 12201 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.; (310) 826-4347.

RUSSIAN

The babushkas always gather at Plummer Park in West Hollywood where, on Monday, a modest farmers market takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Loaded down with white plastic bags of fruits and vegetables, the old women often sit in the warm sun with friends to play a little mahjong, or snack on a beet salad and some herring from Tatiana, a Fairfax-area deli that carries a fine selection of smoked fish, mushroom salad and sweet red peppers. Open Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. till 8 p.m. 8205 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood; (323) 656-7500.

Restaurants are the venue of choice for most Russian festivities, according to Boris Mikelson, proprietor of Tbilisi Russian and Georgian Restaurant in Encino. But there's at least one important exception, the CSP-Soul events at the Falcon Group campgrounds above Lake Elsinore. Attendees supply their own picnic lunches, which can be purchased ready-made at Russian delis. Each year, Russian authors, lyricists and musicians from all over the U.S. who have written songs gather to entertain one another and a general audience. The CSP-Soul group is an offshoot of the highly regarded association Author's Songs, that is in Russia and the former Soviet bloc countries. Information on past events is on the Internet at www.csp-soul.lk.net. Future dates will be posted after August.

For an opulent Russian picnic selection, I recommend Helati European Deli. There are at least 20 types of eggplant salads, a panorama of smoked fish including hot and cold smoked sturgeon and herring, a broad selection of cured meats (try the Hungarian smoked pork loin), and excellent cheeses - manouri and smoked mozzarella. Open daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. 1800 Ventura Blvd., No. 1, Encino. (818) 996-3718.

THAI

To get the lowdown on Thai community goings on, I check in with Patty and Peter Konenakeaw of Thai Ranch Restaurant in Westlake Village. What came out of our always interesting conversations was the revelation that Southern California has a Thai Tennis Association. The group director, Aroon Seeboonruang, a former tennis pro who now tutors aspiring young Thai tennis champions, presides over the tournament and picnic at Brookside Park near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Another of the dozen or so Thai associations in the L.A. area, the Chulalongkorn University Alumni Association, throws an informal potluck and barbecue for about 200 of its members and guests each year at Garvey Ranch Park in Monterey Park. (You can read about the Association on its Web site at www.chula.ac.th.) Usually, the menu centers on kai-yang, fabulous Thai-style barbecued chicken with its accompanying sweet and viscous garlic-laden dipping sauce. Members bring assorted side dishes that almost always include shredded green papaya salad, cool but still incendiary, and si krog, that smelly, garlicky sausage with a rapacious pungency, to eat Esaan style with fried peanuts and raw vegetables.

Between park events or on special holidays, Thais spend time socializing at a Thai temple complex, or wat. Wat Buddhi Chino Hills, with its seven and a half acres of grassy parkland, provides open-sided picnic tents and outdoor barbecues for visitors who, as custom dictates, donate a small portion of their food to the monks. Each November, on the night of the full moon, devotees celebrate Loy Krathong. The custom in Thailand is to float a small boat holding a candle and incense on a canal or river to honor the water spirits. The disappearing boat is said to float away the owner's sins as the lunar year begins again. Wat Buddhi Chino has no river. Instead, according to monk Charlie Noi, the monks improvise a shallow lake. The wat and its grounds draw Thais from all over Southern California, but anyone is welcome, just as they are at Wat Thai of Los Angeles.

Almost every weekend, Wat Thai's lower floor turns into a pulsating Bangkok-style street scene where vendors sell the beloved foods that are so much a part of Thai urban life. Specialties perfected over the years include tiny kanom, intricate and delicate sweet or salty snacks rarely found in restaurants. In season, everyone's favorite, sticky rice drizzled with warm sweet coconut milk, comes topped with slices of limpid, ultra-ripe mango. People wander up the sunny courtyard to polish off their choices.