By Dante NYC and Moby’s, two iconic eateries, partnered up in July to bring Hamptonites the best of summer sipping style.
Moby’s recently returned for its eighth season in East Hampton. In adapting to unprecedented pandemic times, the location at 341 Pantigo Road includes an indoor lifestyle market, extensive to-go offerings (check out this adorable Italian picnic box), and outdoor dining amid its green garden space.
In addition to these existing offerings, it recently teamed up with West Village restaurant and 2019 titled World’s Best Bar Dante NYC with an exclusive ‘APERItiki’ cocktail menu, which was exclusively sold on premise Wednesday nights. Imagine an artful collision between the classic aperitivo style and tropical tiki style– Mai Tai Italianos, 50/50 Mart(ik)is, or a Piña Colada with a twist (made with cocchi americano, banks, wray & nephew, nardini mandorla, fluffy pineapple, and toasted coconut).
While these crafty cocktails were strictly a July promotion for Moby’s customers, the APERItiki menu will be available to city patrons, both dine-in or to go, this week.
Beyond delicious drinks, the bottles make great keepsakes with artsy labels done by Riley Sheehey.
As I reported back in the June 9 edition of Indy East End….
Earlier this season Dante announced a drink delivery service for all South Fork residents, which was served up stylishly in a Cooper Classic Car.
This isn’t the restaurant’s first go in the Hamptons. In 2017, Dante did a pop-up at Highway Restaurant in East Hampton and always planned to establish an East End presence. “Our guests often go back and forth from the city to the Hamptons during the summer months, and we want to be able to continue to provide our drinks for those guests when they’re out of town. A lot of our drinks tie into the Hamptons culture of outdoor living. We want to connect to people here and be a part of that,” Dante owner Linden Pride said.
Australian native Linden Pride took over the original Caffe Dante in 2015 and renamed it Dante NYC. Prior, he worked with restauranteur Neil Perry in developing Rockpool Bar and Grill Sydney, Spice Temple, and The Waiting Room, to name a few. Pride moved to the U.S. in 2011 and began working as director of operations for AvroKO Hospitality Group, managing venues such as Gotham West Market, PUBLIC, Saxon and Parole, and others. In 2015, he founded Figure of 8 Hospitality with partner Nathalie Hudson and took the helm of one of New York City’s most cherished establishments.
Known for its Campari-based Negroni and a classic martini, a mere four years later a panel of 510 experts across 58 countries agreed that Dante crafted a cocktail superior to all others.
Part of what earned Dante such a high accolade is the overall experience associated with its craftsmanship. During pandemic times the restaurant continues to find unique ways of delivering superior service through partnerships and creativity.
“Try anything and everything, and do what you need to survive….We built our cocktails to-go program because we had to — we have rent to pay, we have employees’ health insurance to cover, etc. Set up an online platform and figure out what works best for you. This is the most disruptive thing to happen in our lifetimes, but I do believe out of that comes enormous opportunity.”
