Museum cafés: Stepping boldly out of the shadows

Long treated as afterthoughts, museum cafés have become attractions in themselves, says Judy Kirkwood in Travel + Leisure. Various museums now house cutting-edge restaurants, while even the simpler operations seem newly committed to farm-to-table freshness. Three of our favorites take cues from the nearby art.

Provenance, Cleveland Museum of Art At his new restaurant-café, longtime chef Doug Katz works with museum curators to design menus inspired by major exhibits. The French-inspired Mary Cassatt menu, for example, included salade de chèvre, beef bourguignon, and crème caramel. 11150 East Blvd., (216) 421-7350

M. Wells Dinette, MoMA PS1 Queens, N.Y. “One of the most anticipated openings at MoMA PS1 last year didn’t involve a painter” but chefs Hugue Dufour and Sarah Obraitis—a husband-and-wife team. Using bold ingredients like fresh goat liver and veal brains, they’re making dishes “as experimental as the contemporary artwork” that sits outside their spartan, whitewashed dining room. 22-25 Jackson Ave., (718) 784-2084

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Collections Café, Chihuly Garden and Glass Seattle “A museum in its own right,” this new café feels like a trip into the mind of glass artist and local hero Dale Chihuly. Accordions hang from the ceiling, toy soldiers fill the glass-topped tables, and “the food is Northwest hearty,” from a pressed pork sandwich to grilled wild salmon with green onion spaetzle, cauliflower, and porcini butter. 305 Harrison St., (206) 753-4940