Boston may have cobblestone sidewalks, ocean views, and The Green Monster in Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Socks. But for those in the know, Boston is more than the cradle of American liberty and a hub for sports fans. The city is ultra-walkable and packed with world-class restaurants and cultural institutions that rival any home game.
Since food and museums are two of our favorite reasons for hopping on a plane, or even stepping out of the house, we went on a whirlwind tour of the Massachusetts capital city to discover some of the fun and unusual threads that tie together Boston’s food scene to its artistic hot spots.
Head to a planetarium show followed by a voyage to a bar dedicated to Hecate, the Greek goddess of the night. Or, learn more about the history of the Abolitionist movement in the United States and support Black-owned businesses. One of Boston’s nicknames is Beantown, due to the popularity of baked beans in the historic city, so you know food is important. No matter the path you choose, we’ve got pairings perfect for a well-rounded and delicious adventure.
Harvard Museum of Natural History and Moëca
Still Sea Life and Natural Wonders
Well known for its collections of minerals including a chunk of icy white Goosecreekite and a 1,600-pound pocket of prickly purple amethyst encased in basalt, the Harvard Museum of Natural History is stuffed with scientific wonders. It’s got bird specimens sporting brilliant plumage and philanthropist David Rockefeller’s beetle collection, home to 150,000 creepy crawly critters, which thankfully are long deceased.
One of the museum’s chief delights is a display of delicate, botanically accurate glass models of flowers, created more than a hundred years ago by a Czech father and son named Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka. The Blaschkas also made hundreds of animal replicas, some of which are exhibited here, and their mollusks, with flowy tentacles and an eerie translucence, look particularly lifelike. 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, hmnh.harvard.edu
Next Taste the Ocean at Moëca
If the glass creatures at the Harvard Natural History Museum made you hungry, look no further than Moëca, less than half a mile away. Here, seafood sourced from small-boat fisherfolk shines in elegant, seasonal dishes plated with gorgeous precision. While you’re waiting for your order, sit at the bar, order a cocktail, and enjoy the chalkboard covered in drawings of some of the same sea life you witnessed at the museum.
Off the menu, think striper crudo draped with thin wedges of persimmon and anointed with a garlic emulsion ($21). A single cooked oyster sat showcased in its shell among a puddle of seaweed ranch dressing ($12). And squid half-skewered and redolent of black garlic with a dab of “catsup” on the side ($18). 1 Shepherd St., Cambridge, moecarestaurant.com
Other seafood spots to check out: Neptune Oyster, Row 34
Museum of African American History and Grace by Nia
Dishing Up Black History
Petite but impactful, the Boston branch of the Museum of African American History, which also has a campus in Nantucket, shares stories of resistance and strength. In fact, it’s housed in the very Beacon Hill buildings where the founding of Boston’s abolitionist movement took place. Within the walls famous visitors came and went, including abolitionist lecturer Maria W. Stewart and civil rights leader Frederick Douglass.
Once inside, visitors tour the thoughtfully restored African Meeting House and Abiel Smith School, the first structure in the United States that was built with the sole intention of educating Black children. Continue on to learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth, and some of the ways in which the free Black and abolitionist community in Boston fought against slavery, championed women’s rights and created art. 46 Joy St., Boston, maah.org
Dine at Black-Owned Restaurants in Boston
Everything about the 5,000 square-foot space housing Grace by Nia is bold and beautiful, from the giant palm-tree-shaped pillars in the dining room to the massive windows that let in oodles of sunlight. Grace by Nia is the first Black-owned, woman-owned supper club in the Seaport section of Boston, but it’s not just a nighttime venue.
On Sunday mornings, the turquoise-and-gold-hued restaurant serves an all-you-can-eat jazz brunch. For $49.95, diners get their pick of soul food dishes such as a Caprese-salad riff made with fried green tomatoes, strips of catfish, candied bacon, and coconut grits almost sweet enough to have for dessert, alongside bites of banana bread pudding. The jazz, consisting of selections from the Great American Songbook and heavy on Miles Davis, add on to the special occasion and makes Grace by Nia stand out even more. 60 Seaport Blvd. #325, Boston, gracebynia.com
More Black-owned, woman-owned restaurants: Suya Joint, Comfort Kitchen
Museum of Fine Arts and Dali Restaurant & Tapas Bar
Get Hungry Wandering the Art-Filled Halls
From the dining area’s spiky, towering Chihuly sculpture composed of thousands of lime-colored glass icicles, to works by Cezanne, Van Gogh and Dali, among many others, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is filled with stunners. Ranked the 21th largest art museum in the world, it’s a must-visit for connoisseurs spending time in the city.
Just, don’t try to view all 450,000 works of art in one day. But do make sure to find the panels by rival glass artists Tiffany and La Farge, depicting luminescent butterflies, parakeets, and peonies. Also seek out the room displaying pieces pulled from the museum’s jewelry collection. Hungry for more? Check out the look-so-good-you-could-eat-’em still life paintings of quince, oysters and cute tiny cakes in the Dutch and Flemish room. 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, mfa.org
Art Becoming Food, Becoming Art
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was one of the most bizarre painters of the 20th century, and his work is peppered with oddities such as melting clocks, myriad phallic symbols and elephants with stilts for legs. In addition to sporting an exceptionally long and pointy mustache and making art that continues to confound viewers, today, Dali is also the author of a cookbook.
Dubbed Les Diners De Gala, named after his wife, the cookbook inspired Dali Restaurant & Tapas Bar. The restaurant is decorated in an over-the-top style we imagine the artist would have loved, and offers up small plates such as mushroom-stuffed artichokes with Manchego cheese ($15), saffron-battered shrimp ($13), and acorn-fed Ibérico ham, as well as larger plates of paella. Complete the mood with a glass of sherry or pour of bright green absinthe. 415 Washington St., Somerville, dalirestaurant.com
Other art-focused eateries: Yvonne’s, Contessa
Boston Museum of Science and Hecate and Krasi
Get Hungry For Science
This family-friendly museum is bursting with interactive activities and exhibits that help visitors untangle the mysteries of science. Start by perusing life-size dinosaur models, slices of petrified trees, and the Mathematica exhibit, which explores the importance of numbers throughout history. Then, head to the Theater of Electricity for a show in which a staffer is suspended inside a metal cage while millions of volts of lightning crackle outside. Cover your ears for the finale: a dazzling symphony of bolts generated by Tesla coils and the world’s largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator, which resembles a massive pair of metal maracas.
From there, walk the length of the building to the Hayden Planetarium for One Sky, a series of mini movies about ways that cultural groups around the globe have interpreted the stories of the stars. The initial short, The Forge of Artemis, shares a tale from Greek mythology featuring gorgeous metal sculptures by Canadian artist Pascale Hébert. 1 Science Pk., Boston, mos.org
Mystical Bar Paired With Greek Food
Hecate and Krasi are sister spots connected, though each offers something distinct. Like the planetarium at the Museum of Science, the cocktail lounge Hecate is swathed in black and illuminated with pinpricks of light. Named for the Greek goddess of magic and the night, the bar evokes mystery at every turn. There’s tarot-card wallpaper in the bathroom, mystical tomes on the bookshelves, and arcane ingredients in the cocktails, which are as perplexing as they are wonderful.
The Left Hand path combines Scotch with the scent of palo santo smoke, wintergreen, and burnt strawberry sorbet ($22), while the cooling Eternal Spring melds sugarcane, Ethiopian hops, gin, beeswax and mastiha, a liqueur made with aromatic resin from a tree that grows only on the Greek island of Chios ($22).
For a meal, head upstairs to Krasi, part of Xenia Greek Hospitality, the same restaurant group that owns Hecate. There, indulge in elegant dishes crackling with flavor, such as Htipiti, whipped feta and roasted red pepper with spicy paprika oil and crisp chicken skins for dipping ($16), or Apaki, featuring king oyster mushrooms, chestnuts, persimmons, and gigantes beans ($16). 48 Gloucester St., Boston, hecatebar.com and krasiboston.com
Additional Greek restaurants to travel to: Bar Vlaha, Kava Neo-Taverna
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Bronwyn
Mystery and Art Combine
Born to a wealthy New York family in 1840, Isabella Stewart Gardner married into another wealthy family — this one from Boston — and became renowned for her eccentricity and global gallivanting. Later in life, she commissioned a museum to be constructed in the Fenway, where she housed the works of art collected during her travels.
The museum is the site of the largest (and never solved) art heist in history, during which multiple pieces by Degas as well as other masterworks were removed from the walls by thieves disguised as Boston policemen.
The small but densely decorated rooms can be taken in on a single visit, but merit many happy returns. Sweet surprises include whimsical 17th century Mexican tiles, and the glorious flowers in the ever-blooming, glass-ceilinged courtyard. 25 Evans Way, Boston, gardnermuseum.org
Bavarian and European Sensibilities at Bronwyn
There are decorations in the shape of pretzels, strings of Bavarian flags lacing the ceiling, and a collection of decorative German chairs, so it’s no surprise that the menu at Bronwyn features plenty of wurst, cabbage, and ‘taters.
While the decor is playful, the cooks are clearly serious about offering excellent cuisine. Reibekucken, thick potato pancakes with a dark, crispy exterior, come on a smear of apple sauce and are dolloped with horseradish cream ($16). You can’t go wrong with classics such as schnitzel with wild mushroom sauce ($29) or goulash with spӓtzle ($28), but if you see duck sauerbraten on offer ($32), don’t hesitate to order it. Wash your meal down with a sophisticated yet sweet glass of reserve Riesling ($22), or a flight of mostly-German specialty brews ($18). 255 Washington Street, Somerville, bronwynrestaurant.com
More fare from places inspired by Gardner’s travels: Wusong Road, Pátzcuaro Taqueria & Bar
