Downtown Syracuse Dining Weeks returns for their 19th year through March 15. Featuring a total of 53 restaurants, the participating eateries range from long time participants to dining weeks newcomers.
It’s Café Kubal’s first year taking part in the event. Downtown Café Kubal owner Matt Godard said they’ll be using the opportunity to introduce some new menu items they struggled to execute during the pandemic.
“We had done a lot of pivoting throughout the course of the pandemic with different supplies being unavailable and prices being crazy," Godard said.
Godard said they’ll also be partnering with recently opened Eastwood establishment Kofta Burger to bring their items to the Downtown Kubal’s dinner menu.
Another partnership between restaurants can be found just few blocks away. Glazed and Confused is joining forces with Salt City Smash Burger to create a Dining Weeks special.
Salt City Smash Burger owner Kyle Mastropietro said he and Glazed and Confused owner Paul Valenti played around with different flavors for awhile before settling on the featured item.
"Seeing if, you know, peanut butter would work with it," Mastropietro said. "Just the maple bacon on the donut was perfect to go with just a simple cheddar smash burger with apple and bacon on it."
Salt City Smash Burger is one of Mastropietro’s newest food ventures. He also owns Kasai Ramen and Danny’s Steaks. He said smash burgers finally provided an opportunity to work with Valenti.
"We're very excited to do this. Paul and I have been looking for a way to collaborate," Mastropietro said. "It's tough with donuts and ramen, so when we started the smash burger place a kind of light went off, like, hey, let's do a donut burger."
The Dizzy Pig Smash, along with all Dining Weeks specials are available through March 15. You can find a list of participating restaurants and their menus on the Downtown Committee's website.