In search of ... summer delights

It’s coming — summer is barely a month away — and the area offers a feast of nibbles and sips. Here are some of my favorites.

San Pancho (not rated)

4880 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite 9, Tucker, 770-493-9844

A meager storefront and a few small tables, with a TV switched on to “Manana es para Siempre,” is about all the atmosphere you’ll get at this tiny taqueria. But the kitchen offers an atmosphere of its own, boasting some of the best tacos in the area. It is also one of the only taquerias around serving tacos dorados — hard, crispy tacos brimming with chorizo and al pastor, Mexico City-style. Fish tacos here are made with bits of flaked fish and dressed with cilantro and spicy mixed salsas. On a warm evening, it’s awfully nice to stop in, grab a piña-flavored Jarritos soft drink and order up a bundle of tacos for summer-time munching.

Eclipse di Luna

764 Miami Circle, Atlanta. 404-846-0449, www.eclipsediluna.com

This raucous spot’s blend of tapas, casual atmosphere and high energy offers the perfect backdrop for warm weather dining. Tapas here are the real deal, with patatas bravas, nibbles of Spanish cheese and pan Catalan rounding out a menu of traditional and inventive favorites. And let’s face it, the mojitos here rock: classically made Cuban-style with rum, sugar and muddled mint.

Lotta Frutta (not rated)

590 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, 404-588-0857, www.lottafrutta.com

This happy little fruit fantasia in the Old Fourth Ward offers up Mexican-style smoothies and fruit cups, just right for summer eating. A limonatta cup is a fruit-forward mouthful of freshly cut coconut, cucumber, mango and watermelon, all doused with lime juice and sprinkled with a dash of chile guajillo. Blackberries and bananas swirled with milk make for a refreshing light lunch or afternoon snack. Sitting at one of the tiny outdoor tables, the tops of downtown buildings seem just out of reach — a perfect perch from which to watch the world go by.

Krog Bar