Wednesdays at Caffe Dante

"Fratelli d'Italia."

“A Taste of Italy” at Caffe Dante

The Italian flag hangs outside Caffe Dante. (Photo: BTP)

This past month, Caffe Dante, one of the top bars in New York—and the world—was even more Italian than usual as they hosted a series of pop-ups called “A Taste of Italy,” which welcomed a quartet of well known Italian bars (or in one case, Italian-inspired) to takeover their historic MacDougal Street bar and offer a menu of signature drinks that celebrated the art of aperitivo. Each of these visiting bartenders, or bartender teams, set up a three-day residency Monday through Wednesday from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. and a portion of every cocktail sale was donated to World Central Kitchen.

Grissini, Olives & Parmasean and Arancini di Riso al Ragù

This series started up soon after I returned home from an extended trip to Italy for Beviamo Italiano and was the perfect way for me to transition back to life in NYC while feeling like I was still in Italy. In the name of research (and the fact that Dante is one of my favorite bars), I set up my own residency for four consecutive Wednesday afternoons (that sometimes trickled into the evening), posting up at my favorite corner barstool to experience each takeover, sample all the featured drinks, and have the chance to talk and interview each of the featured bartenders (and practice my choppy Italian-language conversational skills).

A huge thank you to all the of the featured bartenders and especially the team at Dante—including Linden, Natalie, Rodrigo, Eloy, Georgia, Katie, Luiza, Omar, Sebastian, and Jose—for their hospitality (and patience) with my more-than-usual regular visits and extended time at their beautiful bar.

I saw a lot of familiar faces each week from my corner perch at the bar—bartenders, industry regulars, and friends alike—but if you missed this recent round of programming, look for more upcoming events celebrating Italian culture at Dante and Dante West Village, including bar pop-ups, chef residencies, musical performances, and more.

Here’s a look back at “A Taste of Italy’s” featured bars, the cocktail menus, and my favorite drink from each experience.