As the temperatures rise, our dining options increase. We love dining on the patio at a select group of area restaurants and we are dedicated to picnics in parks, on a bench, on an oceanside deck, or high above the city on our roof deck.
We admit we prefer picnics that include a glass of great wine. Even simple fare, some bread, cheese, olives and fruit seem elegant with a splash of bubbly.
One of our favorite patios is the one at Coppa in the South End. It's where we can be sure that the food will be as wonderful as the lovely days that draw us to outdoor dining. That's Coppa's "Ricotta gnocchi with nasturtium butter-cacio e pepe," in the photo above.
We'll often pick up a picnic to go from a place like Bacco's Wine + Cheese and try to find a spot in the Public Garden away from the noise where we can relax and nibble an hour away. There, the sparkle has to be sparkling water but that's okay with us.
We're hoping to win a table on the patio at the new Tatte Bakery & Café on Charles Street one of these days. So far, we've had to order our food to go and make our way back to the Garden to dine.
We'll often make a stop at Thinking Cup on Newbury for breakfast while we're out walking. They make great breakfast sandwiches.
While our selection of patios for dining is narrow, Eater Boston has put together a much more comprehensive map of options. Here's a link to their piece: These Patios Are Officially Open for the Season. They have pointed out a few places we've been meaning to try and the possibility of sitting outside will move them up on our list.
Happy Spring, get out and enjoy an al fresco meal at one of your favorite places.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
in our heat pump. We use a 
to clean our home. Our outdoor shoes stay in our entry area and this time of year we may change clothes or at least wipe down ourselves and our dog when we come back from a walk in the pollen laden air.
will help, we'd rather do that than take any medication that may have side effects.