Le Restaurant at the Musée d'Orsay

Had lunch at Le Restaurant at the Musée d'Orsay for the first time. I have visited this museum several times but had never taken the time to eat here. Quel dommage! It opened in 1900 and the room remains almost the same.

The decor is outstanding if the chairs are a bit 'modern/gaudy' but everything is so well coordinated, the set meal of two courses is very inexpensive [€22] so we added a cheese course for our dessert.

I started with an entrée of Rouget - red mullet in a raspberry escabeche over arugula and tarragon juice. I had a glass of Bordeaux rosé Château Ricaud [€6,50].

My friend ordered the Cream of Asparagus soup with Parmesan foam and crumble with dried Serrano ham.

For my main dish, I ordered the Risotto aux petits pois with a parmesan crisp which was so beautiful I did not want to touch it. It fit so well into the Impressionist artworks.

Finally for our dessert a magnificent cheese plate which I immediately divided up between the three of us. This is my portion.

Petrie Court Café at the Met

Lunch today at the Metropolitan's Petrie Café. Decided to sit down and get waited on and rest our feet so didn't use one on the cafeterias. The line wasn't very long so the wait was only about five minutes. We both had the same special: Bratwurst on a pretzel roll with house made sauerkraut, country mustard and chips [$18]. Very good. I had a Harlem 'Sugar Hill' Golden Ale [$8 but a dollar discount pairing promo]. 

Contemporary Café [HI]

Lunch outside under a red umbrella in the courtyard of the Contemporary Café at The Contemporary Museum in Waikiki Heights.

Soba Salad of cold whole wheat noodles with Asian slaw, cucumber, tomato, shiitake mushrooms, watercress with a garlic shoyu dressing. Iced Jasmine tea.

Great service!

the Clark Café [MA]

Went to the 'Picasso Looks at Degas' exhibit today at the Clark Institute in Williamstown, MA.

Had a delicious 'soup and 1/2 sandwich' lunch [$9.50] in the Café:

Both had the creamy Corn Chowder. The other choices were Gazpacho or Broccoli Rabe with cannellini beans.

One had the 'Turkey Beret' on a croissant with brie and cranberry sauce. I had the 'Mona Lisa Smile' which was tomato, mozzarella, grilled peppers, prosciutto and Equinox Farms arugula on ciabatta with pesto mayo. Both sandwiches came with kettle chips and coleslaw.

Excellent meal in a well appointed dining room which is not open all year. The view from our table was fine.

Tate Modern [GB]

Visited this wonderful museum just at lunch time. Ate in the restaurant upstairs with a gorgeous view of the Thames River and the skyline centered around St. Paul's Cathedral.

There were three of us and we started with a carafe of Monte Aliña 2008 [£5.30] with 2 glasses only.

Starters: Tanche and Lucque Olives and a Bread selection [£2.60 each]

Mains: Swiss Chard and Comte Cheese Tart with Apple Coleslaw [£7.50], my Smoked Duck Salad with roasted figs and dandelions [the large portion £10.95] and a Dessert item for Main, British Farmhouse Cheeses with walnut bread and apple chutney [£7.50] and a side of Spring Greens [£3].

The food was great, the portions good sized, the view exquisite and the service excellent. Translated into dollars it came to $25 each.

bloginfo: The Tate Modern can be reached by walking over the Millennium Bridge or by the Tate to Tate ferry up and down the Thames connecting the Tate British with the Tate Modern.
blognote: There were many galleries not open as the exhibitions were changing. I have had much better luck in the past.

Brooklyn Art Museum Café

We didn't eat at Judy Chicago's installment 'The Dinner Party' [shown here] but we did eat successfully at the Café.

Both of us had the 'sandwich of the day' which was a Shrimp BLT. Shrimp and bacon on the grill with the usual lettuce and tomato on white toast. This was notched up a step with chipotle mayo and a pear and gorgonzola field green salad with a cranberry vinaigrette. A surprisingly nice meal in a great museum.


blognote: catch the website here

Bravo @MFA/Boston

Went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today to see the 'El Greco to Velázquez' Exhibit. We ate at Bravo, the second floor restaurant and had a wonderful meal.

A Taste of España was the special prix fixe lunch of the day for $24.

Started with good, crusty bread and butter. A glass of Segura Viudas Aria Estate Brut Sparkling - Cava for me. A glass of Martinsancho Verdejo Perellada 2006 - Penedes for my tablemate.

Entrada: Chilled Tangerine and Red Wine Soup [great]
Plato: Roasted Pork Belly, Manzanilla Olives over Frisée [super]
Postre: Almond Blanc Mange over Caramel Sauce with Honey Wafer [just a taste]

Then cups of good coffee.

bloginfo: Very nicely decorated room [pumpkin cream walls] with comfortable seating. Excellent service as Xavier was especially knowledgeable of the menu and the paired wine choices.
blognote: The exhibit was excellent but the large paintings were poorly lit with ceiling light reflections obscuring some details.