Last week, we spent eight days in the Midwest, flying to Kansas City and driving from there to Bentonville, Arkansas, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. The focus of the trip was to visit Museums with collections of fine art, but also to receive some exceptional dining experiences as well. Here's our account of this trip.

On Saturday, April 7, we took the early morning flight from Walla Walla to Seattle, and then to Kansas City. When we arrived in KC, it was still winter. Temperatures were in the 40's and no trees budding. For dinner, we had booked the Corvino Supper Club, owned and by Michael and Christina Corvino. He is the chef and grew up in Walla Walla, the son of Joe and Carolyn Corvino. For the entrée, we had fried whole chicken, a Midwestern staple, which was deliciously moist and judiciously breaded. The Corvinos each came to our table to greet us. The meal was accompanied by a tasty, robust 2014 Domaine Raspail Gigondas. 

The next day, we went to the Kimball Museum, a Gunnar Birkerts-designed (1994) building. There, we saw some compelling prints by Cuban artist Belkis Ayón and street photography from the 'sixties by Garry Winograd. We had lunch at one of the best museum restaurants in the country, Café Sebastienne, where we had chicken salad croissant sandwiches with Beaujolais. After lunch, we went to the Nelson-Atkins Gallery, endowed by the Kansas City Star newspaper founder. William Rockhill Nelson. In the Bloch wing, we saw socially conscious photography, and in the main galleries, the famous Caravaggio painting of St. John the Baptist. For dinner, we went to JJ's, reputed to be one of Kansas City's best steakhouses. We were not disappointed. The restaurant had a promotion of 40% off on Bordeaux by the bottle. After consultation with the sommelier, we ended up with a 2010 Chateau Grand Pontet, Saint Emilion, Being Merlot dominated (70%, with 15% each of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon), it was a perfect accompaniment to our filet mignon. 

The following day, Tuesday, the 9th, the museums were closed, so we had lunch at Café Trio on Main Street, near our Best Western. I had crab cakes and Lynn, mac and cheese, with Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier. In the afternoon, we went to the home of well known regional artist, Thomas Hart Benton. My parents were close friends of Tom and Rita when my family lived in Kansas City in the 1940's and house sat for the Bentons when they went to Martha's Vineyard for the summer. We saw Tom's studio and the bedroom where I slept one night visiting the Bentons in 1967. We returned to Trio for dinner where I had short ribs (actually thick) with Lenore Washington Syrah and Lynn, stuffed acorn squash with Cline Viognier.

On Wednesday, the 10th, we drove south to Bentonville, Arkansas, the home of the Walmart headquarters, where the famous Crystal Bridges Museum is located. When we arrived in Bentonville, we went to The River Grill (actually no river nearby) for lunch. It was nice and quiet with Ansel Adams prints on all the walls, and we met the owner, who has owned the restaurant for 19 years. We had chicken salad sandwiches with Ch. Ste. Michelle Riesling, always a reliable standby. Later, we drove by the Crystal Bridges entrance and a guard (with a tech son in Seattle) gave us tips on what to do the next day. Dinner was at "Tusk and Trotter,"  a noisy, crowded place with tables of 8 or 10 people.  We divided a full barbecued baby spareribs, along with Handcraft Winery California Petit Syrah. 

The next day, we drove into Bentonville, parked next to the Compton Gardens and walked north on pathways to the Crystal Bridges Museum buildings. First, we had a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house that was disassembled in New Jersey and reassembled on the Crystal Bridges property; it is constructed of cement blocks and lots of Philippine mahogany wood. Lunch at Crystal Bridges was straightforward, Vietnamese noodle salad with chicken and Sebastiani Chardonnay. At the museum, we saw a wide range of contemporary American art works, including a maquette model of the 3-story tall Jim Dine Pinocchio which was fabricated at the Walla Walla Foundry and then disassembled and shipped to Borås, Sweden. Then we walked back to the Gardens along the "Tulip Trail." At the upscale 21c Museum Hotel on A Street in Bentonville, frequented by art lovers and Walmart execs, we enjoyed a "Rajah" cocktail (Gin, Chartreuse and bitters). The hotel is owned by Alice Walton. We remained at the hotel for dinner at "The Hive" restaurant, decorated with an artistic rendition of a giant beehive on the walls. Our affable waiter served us perfectly cooked diver scallops which paired beautifully with a Macon-Chaintré, from one of the best villages in the Maconnais. After dinner, we toured the hotel's extensive art collection.

On Thursday, the 12th, we drove southwestward to Tulsa, the home of the Gilcrease Museum, founded by Oklahoma oilman Thomas Gilcrease who amassed an extensive collection of Western art, including works by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, plus native American crafts. The restaurant was one of the nicest museum dining rooms we've ever experienced, spacious and sunny, with white tablecloths. I had a buffalo burger with a Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon and Lynn, a Cobb salad with Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay. The food and wine went together so nicely we each had two glasses. In the evening, we had dinner at "Baxter's Interurban" right next door to the Best Western - grilled chicken Caesar salad with Kendall Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. I related the story of how that slightly sweet Chardonnay got created accidentally, as the result of a stuck fermentation, and how Jess Jackson sued his former winemaker, Jed Steele for allegedly stealing the formula. 

Friday, April 13th was not an unlucky day. We drove south to Dallas where our first stop was the Dallas Museum of Art. The lunch was, again, straightforward, with tuna salad croissant sandwiches and house Chardonnay. Then we toured the museum, starting with Yayoi Kusama's "Pumpkin Infinity Room;" a 45 second "look" was our viewing time allotment! The museum galleries included many contemporary photographs and modern masters, including René Magritte, Piet Mondrian, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe and many more. We also walked in the Nasher Sculpture Garden across the street. That day was Lynn's birthday and we went to the city's best seafood restaurant, Ocean Prime, for dinner. Lynn loves Champagne, so we had a bottle of Henriot Brut Souverain - very precise and elegant - with our Gulf snapper and grilled Brussels sprouts.

On Saturday, we drove west to Fort Worth to visit three museums in the Museum District. First, the beautiful Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, designed by architect Tadao Ando. There, we saw a diverse and impressive collection of modern art. Lunch was at Café Modern where Lynn had a tuna Nicoise salad, and I had a burger with Charles Smith "Boom Boom" Syrah. After lunch we toured the Kimbell Art Museum (two pavilions one designed by Louis Kahn, the other by Renzo Piano) and then the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. We then went to the Best Western Irving DFW near the airport. Dinner was Chinese food, at Lin's Garden, the only restaurant in the area. Our spicy chicken and Seafood Delight were washed down with Margaritas. 

Early the next morning we flew from DFW to SEA and then to ALW ending what was a memorable trip with fine wine, food and art.