DANTE

40 EDWIN LAND BLVD., CAMBRIDGE. 617.497.4200. RESTAURANTDANTE.COM

By Ryan Rose Weaver | Photo By Derek Kouyoumjian

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Despite that Dante sits in the shadow of the CambridgeSide Galleria, it acts like—and could very well be—a Michelin star-ownin' hotspot. Chef Dante de Magistris and his staff mixologist, Stephen Shellenberger, have enough experimental chops to match their East Cambridge scientific brethren. This week, they tested out a few of their secret recipes on me and my stylish companion, Darryl Settles, a founding partner of The Beehive in the South End.

Drink 1: "Barrique aged" 2006 Solarente Pinot Grigio ($10/glass, $40/bottle). De Magistris suggests ordering lemon poppyseed pasta, and Shellenberger pairs it with this wine, one of only 18 bottles the house holds (de Magistris' father imported it at Shellenberger's request). As Shellenberger pours, Settles jokes, "You should be giving us a half-pour, since we have five drinks to go." Shellenberger says, "Really? I got the impression with these features that you guys went all out. Oh well, I guess it'll be our little secret ..." Inflamed, I attempt to back Settles up. "Hey, man, it's a Monday. We have to get up early." Shellenberger deadpans, "I'll write you a note."

Drink 2: The Black Dahlia ($12). Settles, discussing how Boston needs more raunchy nightlife, muses that the waterfront would be a great place to have an outdoor nightclub—if it weren't for all the tony hotel guests. "They'd be calling about the noise, saying someone puked on the front lawn or that somebody put his hand up some lady's skirt," he says. The only people visible are older women sharing a pot of tea. Lame. Yet tea provides a loophole: the Black Dahlia, a blood-red cocktail made from cranberry-black tea vodka, pomegranate syrup and a splash of lemon juice. Who knew that the sight of middle managers on a Monday could be so inspiring?

Drink 3: House-made absinthe (priceless). As a writer, I'm obviously stoked that absinthe, the legendary chemical muse of Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde, is now legal in the US. Shellenberger makes his own "farmhouse" absinthe in-house (saffron pastis with strawberry), adding serious bang to your Green Fairy buck by adding extra wormwood, the ingredient at blame for absinthe's strange, woozy effects. Settles and I sip from small chalices and it doesn't knock us off our feet—but I do find that I'm starting to write my notes in iambic pentameter (um, not really).

Drink 4: Damn the Weather ($12). We were destined to order Damn the Weather—we loved its scrappy name and were both ready for some gin, which forms the base of this icy cocktail made with Seville orange, bergamot, cardamom liqueur (house-made) and lemon juice. Winter denial tastes nice.

Drink 5: Old Cuban ($12) and kitchen sink. Our Old Cubans mix aged Cuban-style rum, Angostura bitters, Champagne, raw African sugar, lime juice, mint and a hint of tea. We invite de Magistris to drink with us. Soon the chef is breaking out his favorite libations from around the world. We sample his homemade Italian limoncello mix, candy-infused vodkas and Brennivin from Scandinavia, orange juice and Mayan bitters (made from rainforest tree bark) from Belize and the pièce de résistance: a walnut liqueur the chef helped bottle with his grandmother in Italy at age 12. "All we have [in Italy] is some land, some sheep and some people who like to talk and drink wine all day," de Magestris says, as we knock back the strong brown elixir, poured from a well-traveled bottle.