I have to laugh because it seems today that more than a few of the recipes that I get via e mail or from blogs have to deal with out door dining .
Really ?
Lovely idea .

I've even seen it at the local Tar Jay, pretty melamine sets of dishes and service pieces and so on , all in bright springy or neon ( erk ) colors, dashingly displayed like an Easter basket  full of jellybeans.
And the pictures...open any issue of " Real Simple ( LMAO, yeah..) or Prisoner number ..oops.." Martha Stewart Living " and behold.
Feast your peasent eyes upon the glory that is all things cerviche and precious little finger foody bits to throw down your gullet with your Malbec gently decanted into it's proper stemware.
The ants and bugs will thank you later.

Here in the real world, most of us in the Gulf Coast area know better than to dine out doors except for holiday picnics and BBQ's.
We know that mayo based salads are best kept on ice and eaten promptly and that above all else, there must be the proper ratio of ice to beer in the igloo cooler lest  the Fat Tire or Abita lose it's frosty goodness.
Fried Chicken and ribs are the preferred food because we all know it's gonna be messy so we allow ourselves to act like we are all 7 year olds with barbecue sauce on our chins or hands .
We don't use cloth napkins outside when 7 or 8 rolls of Brawny will do just as well and are  reasonably priced at Slammin Sammy's...aka Sams Club.
If it's crawfish, just get over it and get some plastic paint tarps from Home Depot, your Maytag will thank you later.
We don't do fancy desserts because ice box cake or cupcakes are handy to tote and  easy to clean up after.

Now personally, we don't eat outdoors at the casa.
We had a nice patio table and some chairs that while most attractive to look at were an actual pain in the ass to sit in and so we got rid of the damn thing.
The Ice House is small-ish and there is just enough room for 5 or 6 grown folk to sit comfortably.
Everyone has a chair and a small table for their beverage of choice and an ash tray if needed, we rarely need more.
We don 't even entertain out there.
We hang out.
Other than 1 crazy neighbor , we don't bring glass out there and if she breaks her glass, she WILL clean it up, I am tired of this battle....it's her glass, her ass.
We sit, we drink sodas or beer or wine and the snack choice may be limited to what ever variety of Dorito's I have on hand.
When we eat dinner, we eat inside with regular glasses and so on and real napkins.
We know that a meal is better enjoyed with more A/C and  less wild life so we keep it simple.
We have thumbs and above all else...

WE HAVE THE A/C.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

This is what we have more or less in brown by the way,,and our patio is concrete...