Feeling European On 18th Street

Sunday afternoon, I concede that Marina has a point and that I shouldn't stay inside all day to watch the World Cup in one uninterrupted string. I should go out for a bit to get some fresh air, and then retreat to the cave to continue the soccerfest. We take the 14 bus down Mission Street, disembark at 18th Street, and wander towards Dolores Park, intent on sitting on the grass, absorbing some vitamin D, and reading.

Appropriately enough, we take a detour to a European afternoon. Or at least to my assumption of what a European afternoon would be like if it were spent at a sidewalk cafe.

It is a bit of a wait for a table at Pizzeria Delfina, but it is a wait well worth undergoing.

The row of tables in front of the restaurant are crowded together, and the sidewalk is always bustling with people going to and from the park, weaving past the people standing by the curb, waiting for their own chance at a table. The people watching is good enough that you don't even mind the friendly explorations of the neighboring puppy.

I'm wearing my summer fedora with a feather on it, and I'm sipping a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, which is light, with a hint of watermelon. (How's that for wine criticism?) If that doesn't qualify me for European citizenship, I don't want to know what would.

We are served breadsticks that are thin enough to be breadtwigs, but which are well-seasoned and tasty. For a starter course, we share the Insalata Tricolore, a pleasant combination of three types of lettuce (radicchio, arugula, and something white whose name I can't recall) with shaved parmesan and a lemon and olive oil dressing. For the main course, we enjoy the margherita pizza that is a staple of all decent Italian places in this city, and this one is quite good. For dessert, I indulge in a Baba Rum cake in cherry sauce that is blissful.

Why is it that I have tended to eat at nice places only for dinner? Lunches are a highly underrated opportunity for eating out, I think. What are your favorite places for eating lunch?