Culture Locker Guide Lights Index Card CAFE ARTSCIENCE DREAMED UP by a Harvard professor and set down just east of the MIT campus in Cambridge, Café ArtScience “presents cutting-edge sensory exhibitions, dynamic public programming, and immersive food and drink experiences” says the sixth edition of Time Out Boston. The airy café is outfitted with cosy couches as well as chairs and marble tables, and has a 24-seat bar with white leather seats. You can get an actual meal—cauliflower velouté with sea urchin, lobster oil and curry salt, for example—or a cocktail made with ice cubes chilled to –40º (C or F: it’s the one spot where the two thermometers agree) that “melt slowly like mini opaque glaciers, barely diluting the beverage.” Or you can opt for Le Whaf or Le Whif. The former turns your drink into a gas: the Whaf Tiki cocktail has vapourized cachaça rum served over flavoured ice (almond and pineapple-mango). It’s presented in a snifter and you inhale it. Le Whif “is a portable line of ‘breathable food’,” says the guidebook, “that comes in aromas such as chocolate-raspberry—giving you the essence of the food without the calories.” The one-of-a-kind café is an offshoot of professor David Edwards’ art/design/scientific innovation hub, Le Laboratoire (www.lelaboratoirecambridge.com), which was originally in Paris. Café ArtScience, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge. www.cafeartscience.com. Travel Enlightenment history • culture • art • music • festivals • food & drink www.culturelocker.com