The Neue's Otto Dix spectacular ended yesterday, meaning that the petite museum is mostly closed to the public. But some of the rooms of the permanent collection remain open, allowing visitors a look at four of the few clocks in New York City's museums which actually tell time. Like the rest of this exceptionally focused collection, they are of Austrian and German make, and date to the first decades of the 20th century. That they still work gets to the heart of the museum's philosophy.

"I think that says something about the period," said Janis Staggs, associate curator in charge of the permanent collection. Just as the furniture on display was meant to be as easy on the behind as on the eyes, these clocks are not mere decoration.

"If it can be running, it should be running," she said. Three of them are wound regularly by the museum's art handlers, while the other, whose mechanism was misplaced some time before it entered the collection, runs on quartz crystal batteries. "Generally," she said, "the clocks run well," and only need maintenance when they have been moved.

Many of the historic rooms of The Brooklyn Museum and the Met's American Wing feature period-appropriate timepieces, but none tick. Of the two period clocks on display in The Museum of the City of New York one does not run, and the other, still in fine condition after 240 years of use, has lately displayed the wrong time: a result of its appointed winder's summer vacation. (When informed of our interest, a representative of the Museum dispatched a handler to correct the lapse.) Only The Frick Collection joins the Neue in reminding visitors of time's passage. Most of their eight clocks run, the exceptions being the very old ones in the enamel room, which are only there to look pretty. 

But, while their chimes contribute to The Frick's dreamy European atmosphere, the Neue's are making a statement about the room as a complete artwork, catchily referred to as a Gesamtkunstwerk. If the clocks are still running, it was Wagner's idea. "All things within the opera should work in harmony," said Ms. Staggs. "The music, the costumes, everything should immerse you in this total experience. We feel that we've taken that over in our museum. 

"Besides," she added. "You wouldn't want to stand there and look at a clock that doesn't tell the time."

Update! Although neither of the clocks on display from their design collection run, The Museum of Modern Art will have a working clock on display later this month, as part of a large show on the history of 20th century kitchens. The sky blue, teardrop shaped clock and egg timer was designed by Max Bill in the mid-fifties, and we can easily imagine Betty Draper hurling it against the wall in a fit of pique.

Museum eateries are, by and large, airy, pretty, tasty-and exceptionally well air-conditioned. New York boasts many, a handful of which are much less well known for their culinary accomplishments than they deserve to be. Here's a few, along with a look at what's on view before or after the meal.

The Neue Galerie

1048 Fifth Avenue

The Neue Galerie has two impressive cafes, both run by Austrian chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, of Michelin-starred Wallsé fame. Fledermaus, the bigger of the two, is on the lower level and is inspired by an eponymous prewar Viennese Cabaret. Checkered floors and marble walls give an Old World authenticity to the lunch, tea and viennoiserie served. (Try the spaetzle, or the apple strudel, above.) Fledermaus is something of an insider secret, as it lacks the lines of its upstairs, fancier counterpart, Café Sabarsky, but the menu is the same. Hours are noon to 6 p.m Friday, Saturday and Sunday. An Otto Dix exhibit is scheduled to end Aug. 30, but the eateries are open without a museum admittance fee. www.neuegalerie.org

The Morgan Library & Museum

225 Madison Avenue

Midtown chic. The Morgan's cafe is a airy, Minimalist-inspired dining area that looks over the museum's central court. The food is American-style, and the cafe is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., though on Friday it's open until 8 p.m. On view through Aug. 29 is an exhibition of works by figures whose work intersects with 19th- and 20th-century Romanticism, including J.M.W. Turner.

www.themorgan.org

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 Fifth Avenue

The Met's American Wing Café (one of several eateries at the institution) sits within a light-filled atrium, flanked by the grand pavilion's sculpture and its Tiffany stained-glass panels. Central Park is also within view. Just down the hall from the cafe are two American Wing treasures: Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware; and a spectacular view of the Catskill Mountains, Asher B. Durand's Kindred Spirts, owned by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton and on loan to the museum. Cafe hours are 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, with a later 8:30 p.m. closing time on Friday and Saturday.  www.metmuseum.org

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

1071 Fifth Avenue

In the New York neighbourhood dubbed Carnegie Hill, Sunday brunch is an institution, and Wright, at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim, is a popular place to have it. At the swanky, brightly colored eatery, the curvilinear walls and counters seem to arc in tandem with the host museum's own. A tony brunch menu (brunch is served every Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) features gazpacho sorbet, Maine lobster salad and eggs that it promises are "gently cooked." The restaurant (adjacent to the museum) is also open for lunch and dinner most days. On view at the museum through Sept. 7 is a gorgeous show that pairs two Russian Abstract Expressionists: Vasily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich. www.guggenheim.org

The Asia Society

725 Park Avenue

Sunny and serene, this Park Avenue museum's light-infused courtyard, dotted with trees, is a popular luncheon spot, both for its looks and its unique fare. The menu offers a selection of unusually flavored homemade ice teas, plus curries, fish and vegetarian options. The Michelin-starred Garden Court Café is open in the summer from noon to 2 p.m. every day but Monday. (Museum admittance is not required.) The show on at the museum now, through Aug. 15, is "Rivers of Ice," photographs of the glaciers of Himalaya.

www.asiasociety.org

Scandinavia House

58 Park Avenue

A little-known gem. Closer than Ikea and far more tasty, Scandinavia House's Smörgås Chef serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with separate tea and dessert menus for the hours in between. The first-floor cafe, open to all Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., serves Scandinavian delicacies from caviar to gravlax and the much-fêted Swedish meatballs. Scandinavia House's current exhibit on Swedish fashion will run through Aug. 21, and it has an active film program with a dinner-and-a-movie option. www.scandinaviahouse.org

The Museum of Art

& Design

2 Columbus Circle

The swanky eatery, on the top floor of the museum, has floor-to-ceiling windows and a great name: Robert. Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., can be had at tables overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park, or on nearby sofas. Evenings, Wednesday through Saturday, a live pianist entertains the diners. (Museum admittance is not required.) At the museum, an exhibition on bespoke bicycles runs through Aug. 15.

www.madmuseum.org

The New Museum

235 Bowery

The New Museum's lobby cafe is called New Food, and is accessible without paying the museum's entry charge. Specializing in sandwiches, salads and artisanal chocolate, it is open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, noon to 10 p.m. A retrospective of the works of contemporary Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwander will be on display at the museum through Sept. 19.

www.newmuseum.org