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.

Le Pain Quotidien (six area locations)
This international cafe/patisserie chain offers delicate triangle sandwiches to go (we like the curried chicken salad with cranberry chutney), dainty salads, and flour-dusted baguettes with praline butter and marmalade. Throw a couple of madeleines, sugared waffles, or pains au chocolat into your basket to finish off the meal.

Hours vary by location.

Marvelous Market (multiple area locations)
Most everyone will find something to like at this catchall market that’s best known for its bakery, which turns out baguettes, pastries, pains au chocolat, and famous chocolate-chip cookies and brownies. Among the sandwiches, we like the chicken salad, flecked with apples, walnuts, and celery. Salads come in varieties such as one with Gorgonzola, plums, walnuts, apples, and raisins.

Hours vary by location.

Nando’s Peri-Peri
Flame-grilled chicken is the thing here. It’s available in quarter, half, and full sizes, and you choose from one of four marinades; sensitive palates should stick to the lemon-and-herb dressing, while daring customers can opt for an extra-hot sauce. We find medium to be just right.

Open Sunday through Thursday 11:30 to 10, Friday and Saturday 11:30 to 11.

Patisserie Poupon
This Parisian-style bakery is known for both its quiches, such as a mushroom-and-spinach version, and its sinful desserts. For a healthy lunch, try the crudité salad with fennel mayo, beets, and corn, and then treat yourself to a chocolate éclair or a buttery croissant.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 8 to 6:30, Sunday 8 to 4.

Penn Quarter Farmers Market
Thursday afternoons, you can find fresh produce, cheese, bread, and cookies at this small market. Black Rock Orchards is a good bet for fresh fruit.

Open Thursdays 3 to 7.

Tackle Box
How well do fish filets and fried clams hold up in a to-go container? The grilled bluefish and rainbow trout do surprisingly well, while anything fried (sweet-potato fries included) ends up soggy. For $13, a Maine Meal comes with fish, two sides—asparagus and coleslaw are best for takeout—and a sauce, such as the tangy lemon-garlic. Don’t leave without a slice of one of Heather Chittum’s pies: It doesn’t get much more picnic-perfect than fruit pie on a red-and-white checkered blanket.

Open daily 11 to 11.

Taylor Gourmet
Philly natives and anyone who uses the word “hoagie” will be right at home in this new industrial-chic deli and market. The owners truck in their bread from the Philadelphia bakery Sarcone’s each week, and the fluffy rolls are used to make sandwiches such as the 9th Street Italian, which is stuffed with capicola, Genoa salami, prosciutto, and provolone. The slightly messier Benjamin Franklin Parkway smothers a chicken cutlet with marinara and provolone. Italian wines, many of them budget-friendly, are available, too.

Open Monday through Friday noon to 9, Saturday 11:30 to 9, Sunday 11:30 to 8.

Teaism (various locations)
The Japanese gave us the cherry blossoms, so it’s only fitting that you’d picnic under the trees with a bento box. The ones from Teaism are not only delicious; they’re also healthy. We’re partial to the box with a sushi roll of tea-cured salmon, miso mayo, and daikon. A side of sweet-potato salad with miso sauce is good, too, and it’d be a shame to leave without a chocolate salty-oat cookie. In fact, we recommend getting two—or three.

Connecticut Avenue location open Monday through Friday 7:30 to 5:30; R Street open Monday through Thursday 8 to 10, Friday 8 to 11, Saturday 9 to 11, Sunday 9 to 10; Eighth Street open Monday through Friday 7:30 to 10, Saturday and Sunday 9:30 to 9.

→ At a Glance: Cherry-Blossom Basics
→ Beyond Cherry Blossoms: Activities Near the Tidal Basin
→ Cherry Blossom Dishes at Restaurants
→ In Bloom: Cherry Blossom Hotel Packages
→ We Want Your Cherry Blossom Photos
→ Cherry Picnicking: Spread a Blanket Under the Blossoms
→ Sake to Me: Where to Get Japan's Favorite Drink in Washington
→ Cherry Blossom Cocktails
→ Beat the Crowds: Where Else to See Blooms Around Washington
→ Visitors' Guide to Washington, DC