ART + FOOD
This catering menu, created by executive
chef Gabriel Sorgi and his staff, will be
served at the opening of the renovated
Islamic galleries at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, Nov. 1.
Flatbreads
Grilled Flatbread—smoked eggplant
purée, crumbled feta, toasted pine
nuts, cilantro
Lamb Flatbread—lemon/mint yogurt with
cumin, ground lamb, golden raisins
The Stark Bar at Los Angeles County Museum of Art serves the Dr. Burton cocktail during
a retrospective of the work of filmmaker Tim Burton, whose favorite drink is Dr. Pepper.
Hors d’oeuvres
Phyllo cup with chicken tagine
Orange lentil, feta and cilantro on a
pappadam wafer
Black-eyed pea fritters, saffron aioli
Fava bean crostini, pickled red onion
Tunisian fish cakes, lemon/paprika aioli
Brochettes de kefta
Crispy lamb samosas, spicy tomato
chutney
venue with casual dining options, drew
inspiration from an exhibition devoted to
baseball. Signature hot dogs from cities
around the country were featured on the
menu. “Every single city or stadium has
its own twist on the humble dog, and we
capitalized on that tremendous variety to
great popular acclaim,” Brown says.
roasted-tomato soup in homage to the
artist’s famous Campbell’s soup cans.
A fried peanut-butter-and-banana
sandwich celebrated Warhol’s “Eight
Elvises” series of portraits. Shields
says creating menu items such as
these is as much about promoting the
museum as about giving kitchen and
serving staff opportunities for growth,
variety and learning.
Specialty Nonalcoholic Drink
Pomegranate Sparkler—POM juice,
ginger ale, pomegranate seeds
ANDY WARHOL TO
“EDWARD SCISSORHANDS”
Gertrude’s, John Shields' Restaurant at The
Baltimore Museum of Art, has “its own very
clear identity separate from the museum,
but certainly benefits from the popularity of
blockbuster exhibitions,” Shields says.
This gives him opportunities to create
menus that are reminiscent of a
particular artist. When the museum
mounted an exhibit of Andy Warhol’s
work, he served items such as a
At the Renée and Henry Segerstrom
Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, Calif., short
runs of touring Broadway shows are the
point of departure for creative menu
making at Leatherby’s Café Rouge,
run by Patina Restaurant Group, Los
Angeles. For “Mamma Mia,” guests
could indulge in ABBA-Zaba, a peanut
butter sponge and vanilla panna cotta
served with peanut butter ice cream and
a crispy meringue garnish. When “Mary
Poppins” flew in, there was the requisite
Bert’s Ploughman’s Lunch on the menu,
along with A Spoonful of Sugar, a mini-
dessert tasting following the main
course of Chim Chim Cher-ee, a sirloin
steak served with Yorkshire pudding and
bubble and squeak.
Recently, a new restaurant, Ray’s, opened
at the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, where Kris Morningstar concocts
menus inspired by exhibitions at the
venue. For a retrospective of the work
of filmmaker Tim Burton, the restaurant
is serving cocktails based on Burton’s
favorite drink, Dr. Pepper, and a menu
