Diner: Food for Thought

Until recently, few museums were viewed as a destination for dining. I’ve admired some old masters such as the elegant cafe in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the upscale cafeteria in the National Gallery in Washington. I have an affinity for the modern folk art of baked goods served by Sarabeth’s Café at the Whitney Museum in New York City. And I’m awed by contemporary masterpieces such as the stunning edible art served at the Joy America Café in Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum. But it’s safe to say most of my museum dining experience has consisted of standing in long lines for overpriced bad sandwiches, bottled water and bananas.

More than just a pit stop for tired feet, today’s museum restaurants have become an essential partner of the museum, enhancing the entire cultural experience. Many take it a step further, providing unique atmospheres to create a stand-alone dining destination.

With the introduction of its Cincinnati Wing and free general admission (thank you Richard and Lois Rosenthal for your philanthropic hearts), the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) wisely followed this trend, overhauling the tired Museum Café into the refreshing Terrace Café.

Located in the newly renovated space just off the Great Hall and adjacent to the Miro Gallery of the new Cincinnati Wing, my first vision of The Terrace Café was the serene, ecru room bathed in the amber sunlight of a Saturday afternoon. Just what I needed after three hours of viewing exhibits, one of which I devoted entirely to Mark Fox’s smart and stimulating installation, Dust (thank you Mark, for your ability to question and reveal so creatively).

The dining room is understated polish, no adornment other than the natural view of garden courtyard through one glass wall and the large, familiar Miro (commissioned 30-plus years ago for the Gourmet Room in the Terrace Hilton) through the other. Even with black-linened tables and gleaming stainless steel of the small exhibition kitchen, the atmosphere feels restorative.

No longer the exclusive domain of lunching ladies and docents, the Terrace Café attracts couples, families, a few gal pals and several solo diners like myself on this summer afternoon. The menu offers trustworthy fare of soups, salads, sandwiches and sweets, all reasonably priced at $8 (South Asian Chicken Salad) or less.

My choice was the European Roasted Vegetable Panini ($7) described as “seasonal roasted vegetables, tomatoes, sliced portabellas and your choice of cheese topped with balsamic ranch dressing on nine-grain bread.” The vegetables are a Provençal-inspired variety of squash, eggplant, onion and tomato, all adequately roasted and sliced so that they were manageable to bite into. The cheese and portabellas were missing for some unknown reason, but the sandwich was good just the same. I would have preferred a better suited dressing other than the side order of balsamic ranch, which was rather biting with too much vinegar — perhaps one that’s herb-based or some basil pesto — but that’s just subjective preference, similar to my preference in Surrealism for Salvador Dali’s weird dream manifestations over Joan Miro’s whimsical linear gaiety. A tasty little companion of ginger sesame slaw, fresh fruit and potato chips filled the plate for a satisfying, inexpensive meal.

With the addition of al fresco dining under a canopy in The Garden Courtyard (my imagination paints me into a French Impressionist canvas here), CAM finally has a café worthy of its own patrons, or as Museum Director Timothy Rub enthuses: “… come for a panini and stay for a Picasso.”

Le’s Café, Downtown Public Library
Another little gem of a café resides next to the Friends of the Library store on the mezzanine level of the downtown library. Deli sandwiches, soups and salads are the mainstay of the menu, but the Le family offers authentic Vietnamese sandwiches that are the “sleepers” of the menu: Banh Mi Thit Nguoi consists of Vietnamese pork sausage, BBQ pork, mayonnaise and pate with cilantro, pickled vegetables and hot peppers on a French baguette is the most popular (it’s only $3.75). Vietnamese Ice Coffee ($2.50) and an Almond Croissant ($1.50) were perfect for a mid-afternoon break as I did some research. Not once was I shushed by a no-nonsense librarian or hauled out by the ear for being caught with food and drink.

This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2003.