Summer's on its way, and none of us need any encouraging to make the most of it. There's no better way to celebrate the onset of the hot weather than with a leisurely lunch in the open air. Nothing too heavy, nothing too complicated -- this is the season to start lightening up the diet, anyway. Here are two little places that fit the bill just right.
Cafe Artifagose may have a clunky name, but that's about the only thing about it that hasn't been worked out to perfection. First, it's got the location: an inner corner of a spacious pedestrian-only square (the self-styled Place de Daikanyama) well away from the nearest internal combustion engine. At the slightest hint of clement weather, they open up the front, and cover the whole plaze with chairs, tables and white canvas parasols.
It calls itself a cafe, but the drink of choice here is very definitely tea, predominantly of the Indian variety. Don't expect to get away by just ordering "hot" or "iced." There is a bewildering array of more than 60 kinds to choose from on the remarkable menu, of which the lion's share are from Darjeeling.
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