Wise Sons Deli In SoMa | Tasting Table San Francisco

For all its attention to authenticity and top-notch babka, the new SoMa Wise Sons offers something no respectable Manhattan deli can provide: a calm, sunny spot to eat outside.

If you don't mind having your bag searched when you enter, the airy café, now open in the Contemporary Jewish Museum, is a great place to lean into a hot corned beef on rye ($10.50).

To encourage lunch hour regulars, Evan Bloom and Leo Beckerman have streamlined the kitchen operation and installed a takeout window dispensing De La Paz coffee, salads and sandwiches.

The view from inside the museum

Most days don't see the lines that Wise Sons' farmers' market stand is famous for attracting. We were able to maximize our noon break sitting on the plaza with a smoked-trout sandwich ($9), the bite of peppery arugula and shaved red onions countering the richness of the fish.

We'd also recommend enjoying the new #19 ($11.50) out on the lawn. Modeled after the signature menu item at Langer's in Los Angeles, the sandwich is stuffed with an inch-thick stack of warm pastrami, a slice of Swiss, sweet-tart Russian dressing and drippy, crunchy cole slaw.

"We recently got an email from Norm Langer thanking us for mentioning Langer's on the menu," Bloom says, almost blushing.

We've been to Langer's. The view is nowhere near as good.