Bacco Cafe

A takeout order from Bacco doesn’t pack the experiential punch of sitting outside at the First Avenue cafe, watching city buses blast by and hearing fellow diners noisily fold their newspapers. Fortunately, the sandwiches themselves, all moderately priced and very fresh, hold up pretty well in box-lunch format. “The Best Market Crab Sandwich” ($13.95 whole, $6.95 half) makes an impressive play for its title: It’s nothing but sweet orange crabmeat mixed with just enough mayo to maintain order. While the French roll used for this and other sandwiches is texturally akin to a hot-dog bun, an easy way to avoid it is to order one of Bacco’s three grilled paninis; the caprice ($6.95), made with fresh tomato, mozzarella, basil leaves, and artichoke hearts, rivals anything Market standby DeLaurenti can produce. Other items, like the standard lox-and-bagel spread ($9.95) and a celery- studded chicken salad ($6.95), prove less intriguing, but every sandwich comes with a green salad, and potato salad’s only $1 more. 86 Pine St., 206-443-5443. PIKE PLACE MARKET