Who knew that it was Cappuccino Day?! Well luckily for you, Andaz 5th Avenue is quick on the uptake and is celebrating this fabulous holiday. Grab a bargain while you shop at the store and treat yourself to a $2 cappuccino. Their cappuccinos are brewed with espresso beans from local roaster Cafe Grumpy. Grab your brew on the go if you are a shopaholic or take your time and relax at the communal table in the retail section. Pair it with some snacks made by Pastry Chef Charmaine McFarlane or grab a sandwich from local purveyors such as the Mast Brothers and Katz's Delicatessen.
Deep in the catacomb basement of the Andaz 5th Avenue hotel, there is a lone, unmarked wooden door that blends seamlessly into the wall that surrounds it. Grab hold of the silver door handle, push, and step into Andaz's un-named, speakeasy-style bar that boasts handcrafted cocktails and locally-sourced, sharing-style dishes from Excecutive Chef Roberto Alicea.
Two, 120-year-old massive cuts of Claro wood act as the bar, jutting along the left of the entranceway, littered with baskets of fresh fruit and crude-wood boxes stuffed with bottles of small-batch liquors. A stainless steel open-kitchen suckles the rear of the bar--chefs clad in white coats with black aprons serving up cast-iron skillet dishes; bartenders in all black preparing intricate, hand-made cocktails--for a rustic, candid, up-scale reinvention of a secret speakeasy without the pretentiousness of underground hot-spots in the East Village.