If you find yourself still in Syracuse during spring break, don’t fret — there are plenty of restaurants around town with cuisine to take your taste buds around the world.

The Mission Resaurant

Inside a church building in downtown Syracuse, The Mission Restaurant offers traditional Mexican cuisine as well as options with a modern twist. In addition to burritos, tacos and enchiladas, The Mission also offers different appetizers and entrees.

“We specialize in Mexican cuisine and contemporary adaptations of that style and ingredients,” said owner Steven Morrison.

When designing the restaurant 19 years ago, Morrison said he wanted to bring a Mexican courtyard to Syracuse, with the color and texture of the tiles decorating the interior, as well as artwork on the walls. Because it is located in a church-turned-restaurant space, there are towering ceilings and stained glass windows — details that Morrison said adds to the “unique” atmosphere.

Kasai Ramen

Since opening in November 2018, Kasai Ramen has received plenty of support from the Syracuse community, said owner Kyle Mastropietro.

The menu is their take on traditional ramen, he said, with respect to its Japanese roots. It features various kinds of ramen, gyoza, izakaya and more. The restaurant also has a full bar and is open until 3 a.m. on the weekends as a late-night food option, he added.

“It’s something you’d expect in Midtown,” he said. “It’s a good spot for someone who wants something chill.”

Spoon and Chopstick

Spoon and Chopstick, located on James Street, serves a variety of noodles, ramen and different entrees.

Jenny Suk, a senior biological chemistry major at Syracuse University, is a server at the restaurant and said the atmosphere of the restaurant is warm and welcoming, with pictures of food hanging on the walls.

The Dol-Sot Bibimbap — bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl — is the most popular dish, Suk said, with different vegetables, beef and rice in it. The restaurant offers two different sauces: spicy and soy, for customers who aren’t keen on spicy foods.

“When you mix the ingredients together, the hot stone bowl sizzles and brings a different flavor to the bibimbap,” she said.

On Sunday, the Pan Global Entrepreneurs Association at SU will host a bibimbap cooking session at Spoon and Chopstick to help bring more traffic to the restaurant.

Apizza Regionale

Located across the street from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is Apizza Regionale, which service manager Lauren DeGilormo described as having a “New York pizzeria feel.”

The menu changes every six to eight weeks, she said, because their ingredients are locally sourced, so they are dependent on whatever is in season. Their food is also freshly prepared — hand-made and wood-fired — and they stretch the mozzarella themselves.

In addition, Apizza Regionale also serves specialty “eclectic” cocktails, as DeGilormo calls them, including a beet-infused gin.

Every three to four weeks, they have a featured pizza, but DeGilormo said her favorite is the “Apizza,” which is just a classic cheese pie. She added that the customers’ favorite tends to be the Calabrian, which includes cheese, soppressata, oregano and chili-infused honey.

“Do I dare say we have the best pizza in town?” she said with a laugh.

XO Taco

From the owner of Original Grain comes XO Taco, which opened just six months ago.

“It’s a really fun, funky taco bar,” said owner Chris Bily. “It’s a cool take on traditional style Mexican tacos.”

The inside of the restaurant, Bily said, is eclectic — dimly lit with bright neon decor. His vision, he said, was to create something fun, which translates to both the atmosphere and the food.

They serve specialty cocktails and “really fun margaritas,” he added, that patrons can enjoy with their specialty tacos — a favorite, he said, being the shrimp tacos.

Published on March 6, 2019 at 10:39 pm

Contact Brooke: bnkato@syr.edu