Sunday, June 21, 2015

DANTE NYC Not Really Italian






What is It ???

SMALL PLATES ECLECTIC MENU

Non-Driven Italian Wine List

Old Patrons Probably Won't Like It


Screen Shot 2015-06-21 at 5.00.55 PM

The New Dante
South Room Bar




Linden Pride

Caffe Dante's New Owner


DANTE The new owners, including Linden Pride, formerly of AvroKO, have spruced up the 100-year-old cafe with green leather banquettes, but the space retains a vintage Italian Greenwich Village look with its pressed tin ceiling. The menu is now mostly small plates: beef tartare, burrata, flatbread and cold pasta salad. Italian aperitifs dominate the cocktail list: 79-81 Macdougal Street (Bleecker Street), 212-982-5275




A Picture of Former Caffe Dante Owner
Mari Flotta on the Homepage of The New Dante

The new Dante on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village is
absolutely nothing like the former beloved Caffe Dante, a caffe
that was a fixture of Greenwich Village for exactly 100 years
before closing earlier this year, when former owner
Mario Flotta sold Caffe Dante to Linden Pride who has been
quoted as saying the new Dante will be very much like the old
one with some changes. "Not" !!! The new Dante looks very nice
although quite different from the former caffe .. The entire concept
of the new Dante pretty much has nothing to do with the old one.
The New Dante has been billed as a Small Plates / Apertivo Bar 
that has little resemblance to anything remotely Italian .. It's billed
as an Italian Apertivo Bar, yet the Wine list has barely 20% 
Italian Wines in its makeup an the food apart from a few
Italian items, seems anything but Italian.

Although the new owner (s) has stated that the New Dante
will be very much like and in the spirit of the former Caffe Dante,
it seems doubtful that writers & students would be able to go into
the place, get a Cappuccino and sit writing for an hour or two.
The former Caffe Dante was a Greenwich Village Italian Caffe where
people could go just for a Cappuccino or Espresso and maybe a
pastry if they liked, hang out with friends or be there on there own just 
relaxing, reading, writing, whatever ..

There was a rumor that the new Dante would be serving dinner and drinks
at night and that is what customers would be expected to order, and
spend probably a minimum of $30 and upwards, but during the day 
people would be able to just go in for a Cappuccino or Espresso. it seems
doubtful that this will be possible, but time will tell. Time will tell what the
New Dante is, if its successful or not and if it stays the same as the owners
now intend or if it will morf into something else.


Screen Shot 2015-06-21 at 5.00.37 PM

The New DANTE
North Side Dining Room



APEROL SPRITZ

On The Menu









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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Caffe Dante Re Opens with JG MELON to Greenwich Village


BIG NEWS on MACDOUGAL STREET




Caffe Dante


 




The beloved Greenwich Village institution for 100 years,
the new CAFFE DANTE is open to open its doors on
Macdougal Street in New York's Greenwich Village where it 
operated for exactly 100 years before owner (44years) 
Mario Flotta called it quits in April 2015 and sold the
legendary caffe to new owners.

I just poped my head in there before and they look like they
ready to open any day now. Only thing is, although the place looks quite nice, it doesn't look like it will be anything like it was for some
100 years, which is a true and classic Italian Caffe that served 
New York's best cup of Espresso along with Cappuccino and 
Italian Pastries, Sandwiches, and homemade Gelato.
The new place looks like a cool new Italian Bar, or Wine Bar 
and not the type of place where a writer can go and linger
over a cappuccino for an hour while he bangs out his lates
novela. Actually, I've just heard that the new owner Linden Pride has
describe the new Dante as an Apertivo Bar celebrating the Italian
heritage of a New York institution. So statesthe mission statement on the new Dante's website.
Well, I'll find out soon when I go and chcek it out.




There's a picture of former owner Mario Flotta on the new Dante's website

whcih will no longer be called Caffe Dante, but DANTE NYC



PS .... In a post on Grubstreet, the articles headline is this;

"DANTE WILL BECOME a UNBEARABLE TRENDY 
SMALL-PLATES RESTAURANT"  end quote ...

Sierra Tishgart for Grubstreet March 25, 2015











JG MELON
in
GREENWICH VILLAGE





A CLASSIC JG MELON BURGER



Up Macdougal Street less than 100 feet from Caffe Dante comes
a big new suprise for New York and Greenwich Village as an
offshoot of the famed Upper East Side 's famed JG MELON
bar and Burger Joint will be opening shortly on the corner
of Macdougal & bleecker Streets. Yhis guy for one is huge fan
of JG Melon and their awesome Burgers and am looking forward
to a great classic on a corner that has one mediocre food
establsihment after te other for the past 30 years. JG Melon
with their great burgers and cool laid back ambiance will be
a welcome new neighbor.
And by the way, for this guy, JG Melon makes one of 
New York's Top Two Burgers along with The
Shake Shack, JG Melon and Shake Shack get my
# 1 and # 2 Votes ...






The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK



JG MELON BURGERS Are GREAT !

But The DUDE Prefers His

IN N OUT BURGERS

Learn How to Make Them
in
THE DUDES BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

"GOT ANY KAHLUA" ???







A Shuttered CAFFE DANTE

Ready to Spring into a New Chapter of Its Life

What Will It Be?








 JG MELON

The ORIGINAL

3rd Avenue at 72nd Stret, NEW YORK, NY


Danny Abrahms of The Mermaid & Red Cat
has partenered with longtime JG MELON Manager
Shaun Young to open a Greenwich Village outpost
of the famed JG MELON  ...

If all goes well, this Greenwich Village JG Melon offshoot
promises to be the 1st of many others. Maybe a bad thing?