THE ART of DINING
THE STORY BEHIND THE PLATE
The menu at Oil on Linen embodies Chef Ted Habiger's exploration of the aesthetics, influences, and origins of each dish. In harmony with the museum's exhibition calendar, it evolves to create connections to the art on display. Currently featured at lunch is the Edra Soto Empanadillas, a dish inspired by current exhibitions featuring Puerto Rican artist Edra Soto (b. 1971), Edra Soto: the place of dwelling (January 30, 2026 - March 7, 2027).
THE DINNER SESSION
This season, our menu at Oil on Linen responds to Edra Soto’s exhibition: the place of dwelling, the new exhibition on view at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
Through architecture and design, Soto’s work invites conversations around socioeconomic and cultural oppression, the erasure of history, and loss of cultural knowledge. Her work is a celebration of the voices of working-class Puerto Ricans with pieces that feature objects and imagery from her own childhood in an entirely personal display. Similarly to our previous menu, inspired by pre-colonial indigenous ingredients and techniques, our current menu reflects the colonial and multi-cultural influences which provide the foundation of Puerto Rico’s culinary landscape. In the spirit of reflection and celebration, our dinner menu is a window into Puerto Rico’s rich culinary history with dishes featuring everyday snacks like Ritz cracker with guava and cheese, as well as traditional ingredients like achiote, plantain, gandules and pork.
CHEF OWNER, TED HABIGER
A three-time James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef Award nominee, Habiger is a chef, restaurateur, sommelier, and entrepreneur with a decades-long commitment to local farmers and sustainable practices. Highlights of his career include leading Cafe Allegro, Kansas City's first farm-to-table and top Zagat-rated restaurant (1996–2000), and serving as sous chef at Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe in New York City (2001–2003). Habiger is the owner and chef at Room 39, which opened in 2004 and recently joined the new CPKC Stadium as a vendor for the Kansas City Current. In addition to Room 39, Habiger is the chef-partner at Ánima, an open-fire gastronomy restaurant in Mérida, Mexico, and the owner of Food Truck Central, a commissary kitchen in Kansas City that supports local food trucks and entrepreneurs.
Rachel Rossin, After GTA V, 2015, oil on canvas, 60 x 78 inches. Collection of Bill and Christy Gautreaux, Kansas City, Missouri. © Rachel Rossin, courtesy of the artist and ZieherSmith, Nashville, TN. Photo: Anna Petrow Mulvihill, 2024.
hung and PLACEd
Works by artists including Sanford Biggers, Ronald Jackson, Annie Lapin, and Joiri Minaya among others from the internationally acclaimed collection of Kansas City-based collectors Bill and Christy Gautreaux are on view in the courtyard and entrance.
Also on view in the courtyard is a durational drawing titled set in place (mis en place) by Kansas City-based artist Kevin Townsend. This drawing performance began in September and is taking place over more than 200 hours, evolving in full view of diners with each dot capturing the cafe’s dynamic energy.
Frederick James Brown’s floor-to-ceiling site-specific installation of more than 100 paintings, titled History of Art, remains on view in the café gallery as it has since 1994. In the installation, the Brown both paid homage to the artists and styles throughout history that influenced him, and contextualized his own work within that history.
The Toledo chairs designed by Jorge Pensi that were original to the courtyard when it was first enclosed have returned, soft seating has been added to encourage longer and more casual visits, and new custom-made artisanal furniture by Kansas City-based designer Matt Castilleja has been added throughout the space.
Reserve a Table
Located inside the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Oil on Linen is open Wednesday–Sunday from 10am-3pm. On Thursdays & Fridays, the restaurant opens for dinner featuring menus inspired by current exhibitions. Cocktails are available starting at 4:30pm. Dinner service is available from 5pm-9pm with the last seating at 7:45pm.
Available for Pre-Order when you make your reservation is the 16oz Ribeye & Bison Shirt Rib Entree for Two.