Perfect San Francisco Spots For A Long Lunch

Sometimes, a two-hour lunch is a necessity.

And it should happen someplace where you can sit outside, letting the steam dissipate from your mood and the sunlight and quiet filter in.

Someplace such as the deck at Mission Rock Resort, newly renovated under Peter Osborne's ownership. Its view of the open bay is romantic in that noirish, faded-industrial way, ornamented with passing seagulls and container ships. Mission Rock's seafood and burgers aren't necessarily destination-worthy, but the Icelandic cod in the fish and chips ($15) is shiny and tender inside its crisp batter shell.

Another escape: the patio at Transit Café in the Presidio. Hovering above your left will be one of the peaks of the Golden Gate Bridge, while in front of you lay the swell of Angel Island and a long, blue line of water.

The five-month-old café's pizzas should be avoided, but its toasted BLT ($7.50), a warm baguette filled with late-summer tomatoes, melted gruyère and thick slices of bacon, is good enough that it'll never have a chance to cool.

The café feels so removed from workaday San Francisco that you can order a beer with lunch, certain your co-workers will never see you relax.

Mission Rock Resort, 817 Terry Francois Blvd. (at Illinois St.), 415-701- 7625 or missionrockresort.com; Transit Café, 215 Lincoln Blvd. (at Graham St.), 415-561-4435 or presidio.gov