A tried-and-true bar from the Tippery Hill neighborhood has relocated, and some new restaurants have opened their doors. Here’s a look at some recent movement in the Salt City restaurant scene.
1. Doomsday Pasta – 484 S. Salina Street, Syracuse
Like many people during the pandemic, Keeli Manning, living in the rural town of Mecklenburg, decided to pick up a new hobby in the kitchen.
“My response was to invest in lots of flour because I wanted to get into the sourdough bread game, and I was terrible at it. So, I thought, well, what else can I hyper fixate on? And it became pasta,” Manning said.
She decided to create a CSA for her homemade pasta that then became Doomsday Pasta, which opened in the Salt City Market earlier this month.
“Sandwiches made to order, we do paninis, fresh salad, and we do pasta. We make a house made lemonade, we do a pastina and dessert. It’s a very petite, very thoughtful menu and you can get a little bit of everything, but you should expect surprises because honestly, it will change,” Manning said.
Doomsday Pasta’s tagline is food for the end of the world, which for Manning means using seasonal ingredients.
“We are at a real turning point in terms of culture and how we treat the land and how we respond to the environment, and we try to react through our food,” Manning said.
The Salt City Market opened in 2021 and now has ten food vendors with a variety of different cuisines including Thai, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Mexican Jamaican, as well as desserts, cocktails and coffee.
2. Now & Later – 300 E. Washington Street, Syracuse
A staple of the Tippery Hill neighborhood has moved downtown. Owner Jason Purdy said while there are fewer beer options than the previous location, the bar now offers cocktails, liquor and more wines.
“We’ve also got a lot more food, we’ve got TVs in here, and a little bit more of a loungy type feel than up on Tipp Hill,” Purdy said.
Their new, expanded food menu has a dozen options that can all be made into either a salad, panini or flatbread, Purdy said.
Prior to opening the downtown location, Purdy said he was worried they wouldn’t get their regulars from the Tippery Hill location, which closed in December.
“Some people are anti-downtown so we were a little worried that we wouldn’t get them to follow us down, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised that we’ve got quite a few that made the movement,” he said.
3. Skeleton Bee – 250 S. Clinton Street, Syracuse
Formerly known as Pork & Knife, the new owner Christian Alindato has revamped the cafe to Skeleton Bee, located in an office building downtown.
“Everything is freshly made, and the recipes are very intricate. I know it’s just a bagel sandwich but there's a lot of thought into each recipe,” Alindato said.
Skeleton Bee serves breakfast and lunch, and one of the popular sandwiches is the Sweet and Savory.
“It’s a combination of sweetness from the maple bacon cream cheese and maple aioli to the savoriness of the cheese and egg,” Alindato said.
Another popular menu item is the Mira Wey made with egg, house made chorizo, jalapeno honey cream cheese, cheddar cheese and signature sauce on an onion bagel.
)
