Analyzing heady works of contemporary art requires nourishment. Here’s where to get the best brain food to fuel you as you soak in the culture at some of our favorite museums in the U.S. and Canada.
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By Amber Gibson
The outside of Ray’s & Stark at LACMA. Photo via the restaurant
Ray’s and Stark Bar at LACMA , Los Angeles
You can see Chris Burden’s iconic Urban Light installation on Wilshire Boulevard from the restaurant patio at this oasis for creatives. Young Italian-born executive chef, Fernando Darin, joined LACMA’s globally-inspired restaurant in March—a fitting breath of fresh air for the Patina Restaurant Group’s 10 th anniversary.
Born to an Italian family in the countryside of Brazil, Darin learned to cook from his grandmother and is heavily influenced by the region’s Portuguese and African influences. A veteran of the Los Angeles dining scene, having cooked at the Hollywood Bowl, Harlowe, and Corkbar, he’s no stranger to celebrity guests: recent diners have included Jane Fonda, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Owen Wilson, and Ringo Starr. Try the Brazilian street food-inspired ricotta and tapioca fritters with sweet chili sauce and the Bianca pizza with Sottocenere and Robiolina cheeses, saba and sage.
The hamachi with nori, avocado, and sweet & sour tomatoes at Otium. Photo via the restaurant
Otium at The Broad Museum , Los Angeles
The rustic wood-fired cooking here is reminiscent of Francis Mallmann, but in sprawling Los Angeles instead of distant Patagonia. Copper, steel, glass and wood dominate the décor, with greenery and pops of yellow and blue in the tile and leather reflecting the natural environment outside. Many of the ingredients, including bok choy, kale, herbs, peppers and petite lettuces, are grown on the mezzanine level rooftop garden, and there’s ample outdoor seating (the rooftop is a must). Chef Timothy Hollingsworth spent 13 years in Napa Valley, leaving his chef de cuisine post at The French Laundry in 2013 to open Barrel & Ashes in Los Angeles in 2014; Otium is his first solo project. The mussels with green curry and Chinese sausage and the off-menu donabe French toast with pork belly and maple whip are musts; both showcase Hollingsworth’s originality. You can’t miss the restaurant walking by: an enormous 83-foot by 31-foot photographic Damien Hirst fish mural looks out above Hope Street.
The terrace at The Modern. Photo via the restaurant
The Modern at The Museum of Modern Art , New York
This two-star Michelin restaurant is as much of a destination for international visitors as the museum itself. There are really two restaurants here: a formal dining room that overlooks the museum’s sculpture garden, and more lively casual café and bar option, both run by Chef Abram Bissell. Service at both is warm, although the formal dining room coddles guests with extra bites throughout the meal. A heartwarming butternut squash soup with hazelnut sabayon and crunchy savory hazelnut granola, for example, was the perfect welcome on a frigid winter day. It would be easy to fill up on this generously-portioned amuse bouche and accompanying pretzel croissants and pain au lait alone, but that would mean missing out on the pecan and foie gras-stuffed chicken, borrowed from The NoMad. Before dessert, a playful mango leather shumai with coconut ice cream refreshes the palate and reminds eaters that elegant fine dining, like art gazing, doesn’t need to be tedious.
The dining room of Terzo Piano. Photo via the restaurant
Terzo Piano at The Art Institute , Chicago
At The Art Institute, you don’t even have to step inside the museum to see some art: the restaurant’s terrace is home to its own rotating art exhibit or sculpture. The Mediterranean-inspired cuisine highlights local producers and seasonal ingredients with a couple flatbreads and salads along with meat and fish options. Chef Megan Neubeck is offering a special $25 three-course prix-fixe menu inspired by the Van Gogh’s Bedrooms exhibit that runs until May 10. The dishes pay homage to the three permanent locations where the bedroom paintings are typically on view (Paris, Amsterdam and Chicago) with dishes like salmon tartare, caramelized onion soup, and palmiers for dessert. There are even sp ecial Van Gogh-themed alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for pairing , including Van Gogh’s Jaded Lady made with local absinthe and a lemon-parsley soda made with the same syrup used in the cocktail.
Guests enjoy the outdoor seating at Mission Social Hall and Cafe. Photo via the restaurant
Mission Social Hall and Café at Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Oahu, Hawaii
Chef Mark Noguchi’s casual Hawaiian café has its own artist description: “Comfort food with a nod to history.” It’s an apt description for how Noguchi is connecting with the historic flavors of the 19 th century missionary era in an approachable 21 st century way. Using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible, the menu includes staple dishes like lu’au stew with roast pork shoulder and ‘uala (sweet potato), housemade haupia (akin to coconut panna cotta), locally fermented kombucha, and a catch-of-the-day BLT. The café is only open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, but the third Wednesday of the month, they also host a pau hana with live local music, the Hawaiian equivalent to happy hour.
The museum-like dining room of Diwan at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. Photo via the restaurant
Diwan at the Aga Khan Museum , Toronto, Canada
Sometimes, a restaurant itself is the main attraction: such is the case in Toronto, where eaters enjoy a spectacular view of the Aga Khan Park in a setting reminiscent of a luxurious private Syrian home in the early 19th century. The décor is truly impressive, with 19th-century wooden panels hand-carved and painted in Damascus and floor-to-ceiling windows. Chef Mark McEwan serves light but flavorful small bites inspired by the Middle East, North Africa, and the Indian subcontinent including lamb kibbeh, goat kafta, sumac frites, and sweet onion bhaji with tamarind chutney. Try the lassi and freshly squeezed juices to cool down after the BBQ-glazed beef tongue sandwich or chicken jalfrezi with kale sambal. The restaurant is only open for lunch, Tuesday through Saturday, but will host special themed dinners coinciding with special exhibitions throughout the year too.
