From quick noshing to finer dining

Museums Special

October 23, 2011|By Devra First, Globe Staff

No matter how beautiful the artwork, no matter how well displayed the exhibit, at some point in a museum visit, the attention begins to wander. It is easier to appreciate Cezanne’s “Fruit and a Jug on a Table’’ when you’re not thinking about eating the fruit. Fortunately, area museums offer plenty of in-house dining options, from no-frills cafes to full-service restaurants.

Closed since November, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum reopens Jan. 19, debuting a new wing designed by Renzo Piano. It also debuts the new Cafe G. Chef Peter Crowley, who has headed the Gardner’s cafe since 2002, will be operating in a space three times larger than the old. The full-service restaurant will be open during museum hours, featuring French-influenced, bistro-style food prepared with local, seasonal ingredients. The new menu will feature small plates and entrees. There will also be themed menus that change each month, reflecting what’s happening at the museum - say, an Italian-themed menu tied to the Italian collection. Cafe G is surrounded by glass on three sides, immersing guests in the gardens outside. In warmer months, there is outdoor seating.

At the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, the main dining attraction is the Garden Restaurant, open seasonally. Run by the nearby Hawthorne Hotel, the restaurant features al fresco dining in the adjacent Asian garden, a serene and lovely setting. Past menus have included dishes such as chilled shrimp with basil-ponzu sauce, crab cakes with mixed greens, and flank steak in hoisin barbecue sauce with ginger basmati rice and vegetables. The restaurant recently closed for the winter, however, so visitors must content themselves with the museum’s Atrium Cafe.

It’s located in a soaring space, open and light, but it’s really just a snack bar, with mediocre muffins and salads and sandwiches you grab yourself from a refrigerator. A salad of butternut squash, Granny Smith apples, and mixed greens has potential. But a recent sandwich of the day, billed as roast turkey, turns out to contain ham instead. (Fortunately, its recipient eats pork.) The rollup is cold and unappealing. That $7.50 might be better spent on food outside the museum.

The Institute of Contemporary Art recently renovated its Water Cafe, which reopened at the end of September. Previously more of a cafeteria, it now features new menus and table service.

The rectangular room offers plenty of white space, with windows that look onto the water and modern white chairs pulled up to dark wood tables. It still looks a bit like a cafeteria or a meeting room, but it’s appealingly clean in design. There is also a large outdoor dining space with an excellent view.