The Art of the Meal
After a hard morning of relishing Rothkos and viewing Van Goghs, take time out to appreciate a culinary masterpiece or two. Five of the state’s best museums have cafes worthy of their collections, with menus ranging from the classic to the postmodern.
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Cafe Modern Modern Art Museum
I always have great conversations at Café Modern, and I’m convinced it has something to do with the setting: glass walls wrapping around a smart but comfy dining room; a shallow, Zenish lake outside; and the monumental museum building itself reflected in the shimmering water. Makes the mind relax, or expand, or something. Whatever the secret, the cafe is popular, bringing in residents and museumgoers alike. Chef Dena Peterson’s food always sounds interesting and is often made with locally grown ingredients. On top of that, the prices are manageable; it’s hard to pay more than $15 for an entrée and sides at lunch.
Speaking of conversations, I heard all about a colleague’s French river-barge trip while I devoured a fantastically flavorful curried Moroccan chicken breast crusted in pistachios. It was served chilled on romaine lettuce with feta and a light lemon vinaigrette, and it was so good that I could readily believe that customers won’t let Peterson take it off the menu. But while my entrée was flawless, my friend’s squash blossom quesadilla was not: Barely lukewarm, it was also apparently devoid of squash blossoms (the waiter said there were mounds of the little cuties in the kitchen, but we deconstructed her entrée and could find nary a one).
The next evening (the dining room does dinner one Friday a month) I lucked out again with a perfectly cooked filet mignon in a satiny demi-glace bolstered with—are you ready?—Dr Pepper. Don’t cringe; it’s like adding port to a demi. On this visit, another globe-hopping friend made me green with envy by rattling on about her forthcoming trip to Turkey. (If you must know, I thought it was a little bit tacky that neither one of them wanted to hear about my fabulous trip to West Texas.) That night, she got the only truly disappointing dish we sampled: sadly overcooked braised duck accompanied by cannonball-like cornmeal-bacon dumplings. But we had no problems with our desserts. Her Ultimate Banana Pudding came in a martini glass with buttered rum sauce and toasted pound cake croutons, and I was completely happy with my great, soupy rhubarb-berry crumble under a crisp topping that reminded me of granola. 3200 Darnell, 817-840-2157. Lunch Tue–Fri 11–2:30, Sat 11–3. Dinner first Fri of every month 6:30–8. Sun brunch 11–3. Coffee bar Tue–Sat 10–4:30, Sun 11–4:30. Closed Mon.
HOUSTON
Cafe Express Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
What is this, the ticket queue for some Egyptian mummy blockbuster? There are two lines with twenty or more people in each one, and we’re standing here starving. Move it, you all! Cafe Express, which runs the food concession for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hardly la-di-da, but then, it isn’t trying to be. A Houston-based chain with additional locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, it occupies the middle ground between “fast” and “nice”: You order at a counter and are issued a pager, which has a conniption fit when your food is ready.
The large, casual space on the lower level is functional but well designed, with arty faux palm trees and brightly colored tables. I quite like the menu’s wide range of generous salads, sandwiches, soups, and pastas and its handful of entrées. And I absolutely adore the condiment bar in the middle of the room, where you can load up your lunch with scandalous amounts of imported olives, grated Parmesan, Italian peppers, red-wine vinegar, croutons, capers, jalapeños, pickled sun-dried tomatoes, bread sticks, fresh basil, and more.
Although my friend and I could have ordered a substantial main course, like grilled Mediterranean salmon with roasted artichoke hearts, we decided to go light. The veggie burger proved to be the typical patty on a bun, all right but nothing fabulous, along with varied fresh fruit. The Greek salad was a considerable step up, with romaine and plenty of feta cheese, kalamata olives, red onions, and sliced grilled chicken. From the condiment bar, I poured on about a gallon of lemon-flavored olive oil, no doubt causing a major profit loss for the day.
We considered indulging in bread pudding for dessert but decided instead to split a peanut butter cookie, which was good but not destined for greatness. As we were leaving, I noticed a separate order counter for box lunches. Next time, I’m getting one, and a glass of wine, and heading over to the museum’s sculpture garden for my own personal picnic under a tree. Audrey Jones Beck Building, 5601 Main, 713-639-7370. Open Tue & Wed 11–5, Thur 11–9, Fri–Sun 11–7. Closed Mon.
FIVE MINUTES AWAY
Dining has not come to all of the major museums in the state, but good eats are within an easy walk or drive.
AUSTIN
Near the Austin Museum of Art
Although Cibo, half a block away, is one of Austin’s better Italian restaurants, for greater variety and good prices, you should walk two and a half blocks to Louie’s 106, a business lunchers’ haven with burnished wood paneling and marble floors. It offers an excellent rotisserie chicken plate with mashed potatoes and garlicky sautéed spinach, and the mussels dijonnaise have few peers. 106 E. Sixth, 512-476-2010. Open Mon—Thur 11:30—10:30, Fri 11:30—11, Sat 6—11, Sun 6—9:30.
Near the Blanton Museum of Art
With its attractive rough-limestone walls, the Clay Pit looks like the old mercantile store it once was. Besides the affordable Indian lunch buffet, there are specialties like khuroos-e-tursh, chicken breast rolled around spinach in a cashew-almond cream sauce. Tip: The restaurant is about half a mile away, and if you walk south along Congress Avenue from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, you can enjoy a view of Texas’s majestic state capitol. 1601 Guadalupe, 512-322-5131. Lunch Mon—Fri 11—2, Sat noon—3. Dinner Sun—Thur 5—10, Fri & Sat 5—11.
EL PASO
Near the El Paso Museum of Art
A block and a half away is Café Central, arguably the city’s most elite dining spot. Here movers, shakers, and social mavens mingle in an elegant cream-and-black room filled with original art. The green-chile cream soup is a classic, and you will need extra sourdough bread to mop up the savory juices of the clams steamed in Dos Equis beer. 109 N. Oregon, 915-545-2233. Lunch Mon—Sat 11—4. Dinner Mon—Thur 5—10:30, Fri & Sat 5—11:30. Closed Sun.
FORT WORTH
Near the Amon Carter Museum
The Amon Carter is temporarily closed for repairs, but when it reopens around the middle of August, you can take a break from the art by driving to Gloria’s, less than a mile away, for sustenance (and of course, you can always eat at the nearby Modern or Kimbell). Part of a local chain offering Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine, this upscale edition has lipstick-red walls and sidewalk seating. Try the pupusas—chunky, pocketlike tortillas stuffed with pork, cheese, or both. Montgomery Plaza, 2600 W. Seventh, 817-332-8800. Open Sun—Thur 11—10, Fri & Sat 11—11.
HOUSTON
Near the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
The simplest solution is to eat at the nearby Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but it’s an adventure to stroll to the Tart Cafe, located less than half a mile away in a modern building that houses contemporary art galleries. The counter-order menu offers all tarts all the time—plus a few salads and sandwiches—served up in a casual, tall room with nine concrete-topped tables, black banquettes, and zoomy-looking white vinyl chairs. 4411 Montrose Blvd., 713-526-8278. Open Mon—Sat 11—9. Closed Sun.
Near the Menil Collection
Tucked into a convivial if sometimes cacophonous cottage less than half a mile away is Da Marco, the best Italian restaurant in the city. Specialties have included Chianti-braised short ribs and risotto laced with Norcia truffles (the black diamonds of truffledom). 1520 Westheimer Rd., 713-807-8857. Lunch Tue—Fri 11:30—2. Dinner Tue—Thur 5:30—10, Fri & Sat 5:30—11. Closed Sun & Mon.
SAN ANTONIO
Near the McNay Art Museum
Drive, we said, four fifths of a mile to Silo Elevated Cuisine, a relaxed but refined cafe in a converted older building (the entrance is at the rear, upstairs). Do not refuse come-ons for the chicken-fried oysters with mustard hollandaise or the seared sea scallops with saffron beurre blanc. Resistance is futile. 1133 Austin Hwy., 210-824-8686. Lunch 7 days 11—2:30. Dinner 7 days 5:30—10. Sun brunch 11—3.
Near the San Antonio Museum of Art
The museum has a snack bar but not a restaurant. Luckily, Liberty Bar is just a mile away, so head for this stupendously quirky hot spot for sophisticated but homey cuisine. The appetizer of goat cheese in a lush sauce of morita chiles and Mexican raw sugar can make grown men weep, and regular customers salute the trinity of God, Mother, and Virginia Green’s Chocolate Cake. 328 E. Josephine, 210-227-1187. Open Mon—Thur 11—10:30, Fri 11—midnight, Sat 10:30—midnight, Sun 10:30—10:30.
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