Bites: The fine art of dining

This Bites correspondent has just returned from California, where the most impressive restaurant was in the 29 Palms Inn in the tiny desert town of Twentynine Palms. What made it great? Eating fresh-from-the-ground veggies, surrounded by great pieces by local and visiting artists. A feast for the eyes and stomach – I returned with a Christy Anderson artwork as well as a diet enriched with new-season asparagus.

Closer to home, London's reopened Whitechapel Gallery (pictured) has a restaurant masterminded by Maria Elia, late of that other fine-art/food combo, Bermondsey's Delfina. Just mind you don't overdo the wine if you plan to invest in an edition from the shop.

You can't expect to take home a piece from the National Gallery. But Oliver Peyton, the man behind the excellent restaurant in the Trafalgar Square landmark, has created a tome (The National Cookbook, £25) that combines its wonderful recipes with prints of some of our most treasured paintings. The finer things in life, indeed.