More from our Cherry Blossom Guide:

→ At a Glance: Cherry-Blossom Basics
→ Cherry Blossom Dishes at Restaurants
→ Beyond Cherry Blossoms: Activities Near the Tidal Basin
→ In Bloom: Cherry Blossom Hotel Packages

The pink crown of cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin is pretty great, but everything’s better when there’s food, right? So we’re suggesting you spread a blanket on the grass, uncork a bottle of wine, and have an al fresco lunch under trees that are so beautiful that they get their own annual festival. To help you stock your picnic basket, we’ve compiled this list of markets, sandwich shops, bakeries, and gourmet-food stores where you can find lunches that travel well.

Breadline
If it’s a sandwich you’re after, look no further than this popular downtown DC lunch spot where nearly everything, including the bread, is made fresh each day. It’s hard to go wrong, but we have an affection for layering prosciutto, watercress, and mascarpone on walnut bread and for the Thursday specials: an oyster po’ boy and a cumin-scented Cuban. For dessert, get another sandwich: two chocolate cookies bound by sweet mascarpone.

Open Monday through Friday 7:30 to 3:30.

Cheesetique
There are more than 200 varieties of cheese at this shop, but they all have handy tags that give colorful descriptions of flavors and textures. The semihard, slightly tangy Brigid’s Abbey is a great choice, as is the paprika-dusted Crocodile Tear, a goat’s-milk cheese, and the stinky, creamy Époisses. There are also jams, honeys, charcuterie, and crackers as well as a good selection of wines and microbrews to go. For a splurge, try the rare Ibérico de Bellota Spanish ham for $99 a pound.

Open Tuesday through Friday 11 to 9, Saturday 10 to 9, Sunday noon to 5.

Cowgirl Creamery
Cobble together a European-style lunch at this cheese-and-gourmet-food shop, where the biggest challenge is sticking to your budget. The vast array of cheeses can be overwhelming, so here are my—a former employee’s—picks: A wheel of the company’s signature Mt. Tam, a super-creamy cow’s-milk cheese; a slab of nutty Gruyère; a fresh goat cheese from Maryland’s Firefly Farms; and Grayson, a funky choice from Galax, Virginia. Grab a baguette, some Fra’ Mani sopressata, and a bottle of Angeline Pinot Noir. All you’ll need is a beret.

Open Monday through Friday 7:30 to 7, Saturday 11 to 7.

Domasoteca
While this basement shop in Rosslyn’s Hotel Palomar stocks cheeses, charcuterie, and bread, you should focus your attention on the vast selection of imported and domestic artisanal chocolates. For the most hard-core chocoholics, throw a bar of Domori’s Sambirano, with 100 percent cocoa, into your picnic basket.

Open Monday through Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 11:30 to 6:30; Thursday 11:30 to 8.

The Italian Store
At this specialty market and takeout, monster subs are the thing to get. A small one could feed a hungry appetite, while you’ll probably finish only a large if you have a friend to share it with. Try the Capri or the popular Milano, both stuffed with a combination of Italian meats and provolone. This is the place to come if you’re on a budget—a large sub is only $7.99, so even if you add a bag of chocolate-dipped Berger cookies to your picnic basket, the bill for two won’t hit $15.

Open Monday through Friday 10 to 9, Saturday 10 to 8, Sunday 11 to 6.