Are you the light, summery bites type, while your mate is more into oinking and gobbling? If so, ArtBar (40 Edwin Land Boulevard, Cambridge, 617.806.4122) might be your ultimate date spot. Tucked modestly in the belly of the Royal Sonesta Hotel and bedecked with artwork (duh!), the restaurant boasts a versatile bar menu packed with gloriously finger-licking platefuls of sin that come in the form of small bites. Start with the duck confit spring rolls ($13), accented with papaya and sweet chili sauce and bundled up in crispy jicama. Then feast upon (or daintily nibble) an array of sumptuous sliders, like a savory crab cake with chipotle aioli ($6); the buffalo chipotle burger ($5), a gently spicy bite of everyone’s favorite range-roamer, slathered with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese; or Kobe beef with truffle cheese ($6), thick and juicy and subtly piquant in its buttery mini brioche.
If you don’t lick the plate after gobbling down the lobster mac & cheese raviolis ($14) — seafood-stuffed pasta pillows smothered in a gorgeously cheesy sauce — you’ve got otherworldly self-control. This three-for-one combo of succulent comfort foods (hey, New Englanders count lobster as a comfort food) is just out-of-control amazing, indulgent yet reined in by sophisticated components like black-truffle mascarpone and a parmesan fondue.For the merely peckish, the antipasti ($11) is perfect, featuring fleshy mounds of prosciutto di parma, a pile of salty and spicy cured olives, fresh figs, and shaved Manchego cheese. Load them all onto grilled bread for a satisfying snack that won’t leave you feeling like a balloon on the verge of bursting.
The piéce de résistance? The twin lobster roll ($20), a true objet d’art that’s hedonism in a bun, spilling over with chunks of fresh Maine meat, lightly dolloped with a lemon-tarragon aioli. Remember what we said about comfort food? Here it is.
Sink your teeth in and try to keep breathing. The perfect accoutrement to all of this gluttony? A cocktail, of course. The ArtBar Sangria ($8) is an absolutely must-glug. It features the requisite red wine and fruit juices but is topped with champagne, bringing light and fizzy notes to this usually heady warm-weather sipper. Health nuts will reap buzz and benefits from the Acai Cocktail ($9), featuring acai berry vodka with Chambord, triple sec, and cranberry juice. A collision of art, cocktails, and budget-friendly savory treats? Now that’s what we call a masterpiece.