Food dominates almost every aspect of our lives. Just as we take the in-house dining options into account while choosing a gym, so do we consider where we might eat whilst getting our culture on at local museums. In that spirit, we undertook an investigation of the dining options at some of Boston’s most notable museums and found some real treats, along with an eerie preponderance of Wolfgang Puck.
•In addition to being one of the area’s largest museums, the Museum of Fine Arts has arguably the best restaurant selection. Bravo is worth a trip to Huntington Ave in and of itself for chef Sebastian Porto’s inventive fare, such as foie gras roulade with peach truffle chutney. The less-formal Galleria Cafe is one of the most pleasant places in the Hub to have a glass of wine and a dessert and the Courtyard Cafe has surprisingly excellent BLTs, among other cafeteria food.
•The Institute of Contemporary Arts is fully installed in its lovely new home on the waterfront. Its in-house restaurant, Water Cafe by Wolfgang Puck is probably one of the harbor’s cheaper dining options. Gaze upon the water while chowing down on a miso-glazed salmon salad.
•The Museum of Science knows that you’re not there for the food, you’re there to see an awesome Omni movie. Nevertheless, the food court near the Museum Store is not half-bad. We’re particularly fond of the little taqueria. Wolfgang Puck makes an appearance here as well with a food court entry called Puck’s.
•We’ve already mentioned our deep love for the Gardner Museum. The Gardner Cafe, ideally located in the beautiful courtyard, has some of Boston’s best desserts. The olive oil ice cream (served with sea salt and orange marmalade) is truly worthy of obsession.
