Cézanne had his apples, Warhol his soup. But usually, art and food don’t mix. Just ask anyone who’s eaten at the typical museum canteen—Café Sabarsky aside, they’re usually the culinary equivalent of Elvis-on-velvet painting.

All that might change this fall, when a serious chef (Gabriel Kreuther) joins with a serious restaurateur (Danny Meyer) to open the Modern at the rebuilt Museum of Modern Art. If anyone can steal the spotlight from Matisse and Picasso, it’s Kreuther, the Alsatian chef known for Atelier, where he honed his refined, modern French fare. Even so, Meyer was reluctant to bid on the project, which encompasses the main restaurant and two cafés. What sealed the deal? That the Modern would get its own entrance, mitigating the museum-food stigma.

Kreuther’s still fine-tuning the Modern’s menus—one for the dining room, opening in January, and another for the Barroom, opening for lunch in late November—and won’t reveal details. But Meyer’s confident that his chef will be inspired by his surroundings: “The privilege of seeing a Henry Moore every morning will have some impact.”

The Modern, at the Museum of Modern Art, 9 West 53rd Street; opens late November.

Related:

• Archive: “Cover Story”
• Articles by Robin Raisfeld
• Table of Contents: September 13, 2004 issue of New York | Subscribe!