We’re voracious consumers of culture. And each week, a member of our team shares the words, images, and beers that inspired them.

This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist

Read.// This year marks the 100th anniversary of Isabella Stewart Gardner's death. Gardner, a famous patron of the arts, not only opened one of the first privately owned museums in the country but was also something of an influencer during her lifetime. In her new biography, you can learn more about the woman behind the museum, her camera-shy behavior, the scandalous portrait of herself she commissioned, and that one time she borrowed a lion from the Boston Zoo in order to walk it on a leash through the city streets. Alternately skewered and praised by the press during her lifetime for her ability to surprise and confound, Gardner established a museum that is an eclectic marvel—and which later became the target of the biggest art crime in history. Don't let the heist eclipse the woman herself, though. Her keen eye and her personal flair for the dramatic are just as fascinating as her collection.

Look.// This Is a Robbery, a four-part documentary series on Netflix, tries to unravel the mystery of the most notorious art heist in the world. On a night in March 1990, thirteen pieces of art were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by thieves disguised as police officers. Despite a hefty reward and the involvement of the FBI, the mystery remains unsolved and the artworks at large. Besides giving armchair gumshoes the opportunity to come up with homespun theories about the whereabouts of this priceless art, the series also piques viewer interest in the enigmatic Gardner herself. If you can't make it to her museum to see those startling empty frames that still hang on the wall all these years after the robbery, this documentary is the next best thing.

Drink.// Hojoku Tavern’s Diamond City cocktail

If you do make it to the Gardner Museum for a visit, winding your way through its monumental collections will surely make you thirsty. Why not stop for drinks afterward at Hojoku Tavern, a rock-and-roll-inspired Japanese restaurant within walking distance of the museum with a wide selection of sake, beers, and cocktails, many of which sound (is it just me?) oddly heist-inspired. Favorite contenders include the Night Shift IPA, the Smoke and Dagger Dark Lager, and the Diamond City cocktail. If you're really lucky, you can time your visit to coincide with the Hustle and Motivate, one of Hojoku's daily rotating frozen cocktails, which tastes remarkably like a Grasshopper cookie. Sip it while sitting at the bar and checking out the restaurant's own carefully curated collection of knickknacks, memorabilia, and kitsch.