There's nothing more relaxing than sitting at a restaurant on a lazy sunny afternoon with a glass of wine and a beautiful snack to go with it. Here are seven places that are perfect to spend an enjoyable hour and have a bite and a drink to hold you over until dinner.
Park Tavern:Deviled eggs, crispy lemon chips, and sauvignon blanc
Washington Square Park teems with life and excitement on the weekends. Get your fill of people watching at a sidewalk table with some of Park Tavern's famous smoked deviled eggs, topped with bacon and pickled jalapeños with just the right amount of tang and heat. Also great are the thinly sliced crispy lemon chips, served with fava bean hummus and tart sorrel. A light, crisp sauvignon blanc is just the thing to go with them.
Photo by Eva Frye
Bar Tartine's Sandwich ShopFried dill langos and German salted wheat ale
Nick Balla takes soft potato dough, which he's perfected at Bar Tartine, and deep fries it into a thick golden-crusted flatbread still tender in the middle, and drizzles it with rich garlic sour cream and fresh dill. Enjoy it at the sandwich shop with any of the fine European beers on the menu; the German salted wheat ale is nice. The savory flavor the "langos" punches is enough to have you dreaming about it long after you've finished.
Photo by John J. of Yelp
La Mar'sCebiche, causa limeña, and sangria
La Mar's spot on the Embarcadero is a great destination snack: Grab a table along the windows for a bay view and enjoy their cebiche clasico, with halibut, habañero, Peruvian corn, yam, and leche de tigre sauce. Also get an order of causa limeña (cylindrical Peruvian potato topped with a hat of Dungeness crab, avocado purée, quail egg, cherry tomatoes and ají amarillo Huancaína sauce). And of course, everything is made even better with a spiced glass of sangria.
Photo from Gioia
Gioia Pizzeria'sMeatballs and red wine
If you're in the Polk area, make a stop by Gioia Pizzeria with a friend, where you can share some beef and pork meatballs spruced up with prosciutto, ricotta, and oregano that are fall-apart tender, braised in marinara sauce. Sit at the pizza window, if you can, soak in the fading afternoon warmth, and gobble down your meatballs with a glass of red wine.
Hog & Rocks'Potato skins, chicken wings, and Blubuddha Mint Coolha cocktail
For a heartier midday bite, head to Hog & Rocks at 19th and San Carlos for potato skins and chicken wings. Scott Youkilis's potato skins come with a variety of meats and is doused in "diablo" sauce (like a spicy Mornay with ham), and paprika crème. The chicken wings are perfect with a beer and "Youk's special hot sauce." Or to freshen it up, sip on a citrusy "Blubuddha Mint Coolha," with Hangar One Buddha’s Hand vodka, lemon, rhubarb-shiso syrup, candied rhubarb, mint, and ginger beer.
Photo by Eva Frye
Prospect's Ricotta donuts and white peach sage cocktail
It's Saturday, and you want something sweet and filling. Do you know where your donuts are? Prospect fries up amazingly moist donut holes, rich and creamy with ricotta. Take the orbs, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and dip them in decadent hazelnut caramel and fudgey chocolate ganache. Any of their seasonal drinks work here–the floral white peach sage cocktail is a great addition to a sweet afternoon treat.
Farina'sFocaccia di Recco and Cinque Terre white wine
Another midafternoon favorite is a stop at Farina for their beloved Focaccia di Recco: Stracchino cheese melted between two layers of thin dough. Sipping a dry, floral Cinque Terre white wine makes this snack heavenly.
Where do you go for your favorite midday bite?
