I finally had a chance to try out another of the city’s relatively hidden gems, which carries the very apt name Secret Garden. Secret Garden is part of a variety of local businesses owned by the Han family. Han’s Oriental Grocery is right next door to the small restaurant serving primarily authentic Korean food but also Japanese food and sushi. It’s the sort of place that caters mainly to

I was lucky enough to attend Saturday’s Salt City Dishes and I wanted to share my experience. In case you didn’t read my previous article or are unfamiliar, Salt City Dishes is an annual dinner event that feels similar to a mini business plan competition but adds excellent food and community atmosphere and lets guests vote for their favorite presentation. The winning team gets $1000 and the expectation of

One of the most intriguing restaurants to open in Syracuse’s recent past is undoubtedly the Ironwood in Manlius. The relatively small, high end restaurant is a full-scale operation that does things much differently than most places in town. Instead of having pizza as a side thing and serving pasta and meat dishes, at Ironwood the pizza is the star of the show. The menu is simple; a few salads,

Back in February when the NOexcuses website went live I wrote a feature on the project and just recently I had the pleasure of going on an exclusive test tour. It was quite an interesting experience and even I learned a thing or two about Syracuse while on it. I also got a chance to see where the NOexcuses vision is going and how great it’s going to become

Since there are so many upcoming concerts I figured I’d compile one big list to help you pick and choose. I scoured every single venue website to put this thing together. As you may know by now my tastes tend to fall under the rap and electronic genres, but I’ll make sure there’s something here for everyone. I’m always writing about Westcott Theater concerts and I’d like to broaden the

Today at 2:00 p.m. Frank Malfitano, Executive Director of the M&T Jazz Fest, announced the 2013 lineup for this great, annual event. The 31st Jazz Fest will return to the pleasant shores of Jamesville Beach Park once again, where an exciting collection of artists from across jazz, funk, rock, and more will play. Headlining this year are… The Doobie Brothers, Taylor Dayne, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Yellowjackets, The

We may still be a few months away from the 2013 edition of the Funky Flea, but I wanted to put this out early. The exciting, annual marketplace event that ties an open-air flea market approach with great food vendors, live music, and more. It’s become a very popular event and a great place to shop or sell. In general, you can find all kinds of retro items, collectibles,

When it comes to the local movement, it’s very easy to pigeonhole yourself into one category of local. We get caught up in the phrase “local food” because it’s perhaps the most obvious–and tangible. But when it comes to local music, I often get a bad taste in my mouth. The term “local band” has the connotations like loud, disorderly, and crappy quality, while limiting one’s expectations–but there is

I’m sure you’ve seen the Syracuse edition of City Dining Cards around town at various local restaurants, stores, and events like Syracuse First’s Buy Local Bash. I’m also sure that many of you already put up the $20 for this really unique way to save money while supporting Syracuse’s locally-owned businesses. I had a set lying around and decided to snap a couple pictures to show you why it’s

One of the newest and coolest places to open in Downtown Syracuse is Cafe Kubal’s amazing third store. The brand–which started at the James Street location–has found success as a unique Syracuse business, roasting and serving up some of the finest coffee in town, much of it organic and/or fair trade. Coffee lovers from across Syracuse recognize the name and have yet another location to grab a cup (or