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The Peabody Essex Museum Sails with a Light Menu

The Hawthorne Sandwich at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA

Enjoying the warmer weather we turn to a summer series visiting museums to partake in a summer journey of art and food, after all, #FoodIsArt. (Eat at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Peabody Essex Museum; Worcester Art Museum; Norman Rockwell MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum… and more).

The simplistic sentiments of community reign at Peabody Essex Museum through its vibrant, collaborative nature and open-door policy. With a rich history of captains and sailors, Peabody Essex Museum remains true to its ocean ties with its architectural design by Moshe Safdie. The expansive glass ceiling offers a glimpse into Salem’s obsession with skies and seas while a contemporary flair echoes through the walls of the museum and resonates on the delicate pages of the Atrium Café menu.

The Atrium Dining Space at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA
The Atrium Dining Space at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA

Open to all Salem residents at no cost, the Peabody Essex Museum embraces the use of the well-lit Atrium Café as a gathering center to indulge in Salem’s history. “The atrium is Salem’s living room,” said Whitney Van Dyke, Director of Communications. “With folks from Salem, we keep our doors open and inviting. We embrace the food scene that is is booming in Salem and partner with local brewers and food specialists. We do not see the outdoor eateries as competition. Instead, we embrace them with invites to our Atrium Cafe and special events.” With a contemporary menu inspired by Salem’s story, the Atrium Café infuses the culinary skills of the Hawthorne Hotel – named after Salem’s favorite son, Nathaniel Hawthorne –  into its weekly menu options.

Chefs Emmy Nelson and Nicole Nadeau bring the culinary flair of the Peabody Essex Museum’s sailing culture with light dining choices like The Hawthorne – a candied maple bacon, oven roasted turkey sandwich with spinach, Dijon mustard and sliced shallots – and the Clam Chowdah – a New England specialty. The menu, while in constant state of change to reflect inspired cuisines, is always comprised of featured soups and salads alongside gluten-free dishes and child-friendly options.

Vegetarian Chili at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA
Vegetarian Chili at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA

Casual dining at the Atrium Café is certainly a staple of Salem culture; however, PEM’s third Thursdays offer a true showcase of the culinary skills that drive the Atrium Café. On these monthly occasions, the museum opens its doors until 9 p.m.

PEM’s PM is a night of celebrating Salem’s well-bonded community with an artistic emphasis, yet the highlight of the evening is often a treat from the Atrium Café’s PM menu. The Café’s savory and inspired dishes breathe life into the simplest culinary cuisine, like the pesto arugula chicken breast and roasted purple cauliflower.

From Jalapeno cornbread to roast beef paninis and shrimp skewers, the dishes prepared by the Hawthorne Hotel for the Atrium Café speak to the modest beginnings of Salem’s History.

 

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A Quick Bite with Cliff Rucker

The name Cliff Rucker has become synonymous with the future of Worcester and why not! Mr. Rucker is committed to bringing professional hockey back to Worcester in 2017 with the Worcester Railers, he is building a 100,000 square-foot skating rink in the heart of the Canal District, as well as numerous other proposed building projects in the City. But for our purposes, we are really interested in his eating habits and his relationship with local restaurant king, Michael Covino of Niche Hospitality. At Mass Foodies, we recently broke the news of Mr. Covino’s new dining concept, Nonna’s Kitchen and Café, to be housed in the aforementioned ice skating rink and featuring a style of pizza not currently found in Worcester. Long Island style pizza isn’t thin like Neapolitan, but not as thick as a Chicago deep dish or a Brooklyn Sicilian. That relationship led us to believe that Mr. Rucker might just be a foodie in business attire.

Cliff Rucker (Photo courtesy of MassLive.com)
Cliff Rucker (Photo courtesy of MassLive.com)

First and foremost, let us be clear. Rucker is a man who simply enjoys a great meal by great people outside of the food chain phenomena. So, don’t expect to walk into your local Applebee’s to witness a feast led by Rucker. Instead, look for him in the crevices of the city and at local mom and pop shops. “We definitely stay away from chains,” says Rucker. “When we travel, sampling local cuisine is at the top of the list.” Luckily for Rucker, Worcester has morphed into a melting pot of food choices. Between the established local restaurants like the One Eleven Chop House or Niche’s The Fix Burger Bar, new up and comers like deadhorse hill and Lock 50, eclectic hole-in-the-wall restaurants like Talyta’s Café or Addie Lee’s Soul Food and the ever popular Hangover Pub, there is no real excuse to eat at a food chain. “With all the information about dining experiences available online, it is easy and fun to investigate a restaurant before you try it. Just remember, you can’t believe everything you read, so draw your own conclusions,” says Rucker.

Rucker is a lover of all things dinner time. “Like most people, I grab a quick breakfast on-the-go, usually a homemade smoothie and a muffin,” he says. “Lunch generally revolves around a business meeting but dinner is my time with my family. I usually try to be home for dinner with the family as often as possible. We have five children, so there is no such thing as a quiet meal at home but eating dinner with them has always been the highlight of my day. Watching my children interact with each other and evolve over the years at dinner has always been the reason behind why I get up and go to work every day.”

Dinner with family is always the right ingredient for a great night but at the Rucker house, and his wife and a few of her special recipes, are the star of the show. With an Italian heritage to back years of culinary skills, the Ruckers are fans of hearty, homemade dishes, but one is a crowd favorite. “My wife makes a fantastic chicken pot pie and I am a big comfort food kind-of-guy and I don’t want to ever live without her chicken pot pie.” If those words don’t melt your foodie heart, then we don’t know what will.

A family man in love with his wife’s chicken pot pie, Rucker also loves being around friends and enjoying dinner the good ol’ Italian way – with a lot of wine. “Hosting a dinner for six friends isn’t at the top of our list of “fun” things, mostly because of all of the prepping before and cleaning after,” he says. “I love going out to an upscale Italian restaurant and ordering a lot of courses: soups, salads, pasta dishes and a main course, just like in Italy. With a lot of wine and being very loud.”

Mr. Rucker is clearly making his mark in Worcester and we think, the community will be better off for it!