Deep Dish

One of those is the Sugar Pearl Espresso
Bar and Lounge, 600 Burnet Ave., a funky café located in the
Hawley-Green district. While it’s true that their main cynosure is
based around several flavors of Ithaca’s Gimme Coffee java, the
multifaceted venue had ulterior motives before opening on May 1, 2007.

“It was built into the business plan to
feature constantly changing artwork as a complement to what we offer on
the menu,” says Sugar Pearl owner Phyllis Vadala. “We usually display a
different artist’s artwork every two weeks. I’d say from the artists
we’ve displayed up until this point, it has been split into thirds of
area college students, faculty and community artists.” 

The inaugural exhibition at Sugar Pearl
featured Alejandro Betancourt, a Syracusan whose work also has been
displayed at the Syracuse Technology Garden and The Redhouse. Since
then, Grace Laughlin, who hadn’t exhibited in 30 years, journeyed out
of her exile to showcase at Sugar Pearl, followed by area freelance
photographer John Peck. This December, Syracuse University graduate
student Katelin DeStefano will have an entire room in Sugar Pearl
devoted to a furniture installation.

Sugary suite: This little nook, like
every other area in the Sugar Pearl Espresso Bar and Lounge, provides a
combination of local artists’ visual aesthetic and eclectic relaxation.

Vadala notes that there is no concrete
exhibition schedule and the slate is pretty loose when it comes to who
can show what, and when. “Generally, we view many submissions online
but people do bring in things from time to time as well,” she
continues. “We’ll show framed artwork, sculptures and everything in
between. We mostly exhibit contemporary cutting-edge work and we do
curate the submissions a little, but if the work fits, it’s come as is.”

And while some people have just stopped
in to check out an exhibition they heard about, they usually can’t
resist ordering a drink for the road or staying for a meal. Lorraine
Smorol wrote a restaurant review of Sugar Pearl in the Nov. 7, 2007,
issue of The New Times, and Vadala says that very little has
changed since then. They still offer the aforementioned conglomeration
of coffee and, since this is a vegan joint, a number of non-carnivorous
breakfast, lunch and dinner platters.

The only non-vegan items are free-range,
organic eggs included in a few breakfast dishes. Other breakfast
favorites include sweet pumpkin/zucchini “pannycakes” and raisin-bread
french toast, as well as a number of others sure to satisfy even the
crankiest of palates, ranging in price from $2.95 to $8.95. A variety
of vegan salads, wraps and sandwiches such as the Oriental-oriented
Wasabi Tuber and the Greek Veeta Vita Veggie Wrap, round out the lunch
menu, and cost between $6.75 and $7.50. One dinner plate is offered for
$9.95 and includes Farma-Rice with your choice of three added elements,
including marinated baked tofu, Asian black beans, homemade guacamole,
Wasabi sweet potatoes or root-fries.

For more information about Sugar Pearl
or to inquire about having artwork shown, call 422-7427 or visit
www.sugarpearl.org. Hours of operation are Sundays through Wednesdays,
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Border Crossing

Los amigos at Arad Evans Inn, 7206 E.
Genesee St., Fayetteville, got into a south-of-the-border state of mind
and opened a second establishment earlier this year dubbed Papa Gallo
Mexican Restaurant, 205 W. Genesee St., Fayetteville. Like Arad Evans,
the high-end cantina offers a Mexican standoff of authentic delights
and moderately priced, bona fide comida. 

But they also sell non-edible
commodities as well: all of the artwork that’s garnishing your
surroundings as you dine. So if you happen to be at a table and
something on the wall catches your eye, you might have to skip dessert
and order a sculpture or a wall-hanging to go instead.

“Basically, all the stuff we have is
handmade and hand-painted from Mexico and no two pieces are alike,”
says Jason Thomas, owner of Papa Gallo. “My family is from San Antonio
and I came across this shop that imports all of their arts and
craftwork from different parts of Mexico, which is where I purchased
everything that’s in our restaurant.”

Hanging on the walls and from the
ceiling and sitting on the shelves and their bar are a variety of
Mexican folk art, pottery, clay work, tinwork, metalwork, carved wood
pieces and their most popular—and delicate—decoration, Catrina
skeletons, which if you’ve ever seen producer Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas or The Corpse Bride, you’ll know where the goth moviemaker got the idea for some of his characters.

“When we initially bought the first
batch of artwork we knew we were going to try to sell it, but we
weren’t sure if there’d be a demand for it,” adds Thomas. “Then we
thought if there’s no demand, at least it’ll be our décor and it’s not
like it’d be going to waste.”

Made in Mexico: All of the artwork featured at Papa Gallo’s is imported from South of the Border, and all is one-of-a-kind. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTOS

All of their margaritas are served in
hand-blown bubble glasses, also shipped in from San Antonio, and also
very fragile. “With the amount that have accidentally broken in the
past year,” continues Thomas, “I’ve had to have my mom ship me up
another two dozen just in the past few months, and initially we bought
a hundred of them. But I think it’s worth it because we’re trying to
make it as authentic of a Tex-Mex experience as we can and the feedback
has been really good so far.” 

Seven chef specialties at Papa Gallo’s
include Carne Asada, Camorones con Tres Chilies and Enchilada de
Mariscoas and range in price from $17.50 to $23.50. Standard favorites
such as quesadillas, fajitas, burritos, tacos and enchiladas are also
sizzled up and run $6 to $16. And if you think wine is agreeable with
only Italian fare, buy a bottle of any of the seven vintages presented
to change your mind.

Takeout is also available. The
restaurant is open Mondays through Thursdays for lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2
p.m. Dinner is served Mondays through Thursdays, 5 to 10 p.m., and
Fridays and Saturdays, 5 to 11 p.m. Call 632-4789 or visit
www.papagallorestaurant.com for information.

Orient Express

In The Book of Tea by Kakuzo
Okakura, the author describes the “roji” as the “garden path, which
leads from the machiai (waiting room) to the tearoom, signifying the
first stage of meditation: the passage into self-illumination.” And
that’s exactly the feeling you get when entering Roji Tea Lounge, 108
E. Washington St.

The East-meets-West teahouse provides a
serene setting with couches and small tables for patrons to engage one
another or sit peacefully alone listening to the background mood music
or perusing a book. Several exotic teas, including greens, oolongs,
blacks, whites and fermented, are served, with the option to complement
your choice with several desserts.

Like the aforementioned
gallery/eateries, Roji has also found its own niche when it comes to
displaying artwork. But unlike the other two, it came well after the
first tea was steeped. “When we first opened, we just had our original,
traditional paintings and that was it,” says Tomomi Yoshida, manager of
the Roji Tea Lounge. “Once we started communicating with customers who
were artists and finding out what they do, we just went from there. And
now, we are constantly featuring work from different local artists on a
regular basis.”

Yoshida mentions they first started
displaying local artists two months ago, with the Delavan Art Center’s
Courtney Rile christening the walls with an exhibition titled

Chemigrams. Currently, Blair Frodelius’ tinted pictures alternated with, appropriately, black tea, are on display through Nov. 29.

And while Yoshida mentions that they
will consider any artist’s work to display in the lounge, they like to
try to maintain a sense of feng shui and not mess with the harmony of
Roji’s surroundings. 

“We just make sure the artwork will go
with atmosphere,” continues Yoshida. “We like to make sure the art
complements the atmosphere and sometimes we have to turn down some
offers. But it’s not like we think we’re better than them or they’re
not good enough to be displayed, it’s just different. We’ve got our own
unique sense of style and we look forward to supporting the local art
scene and hope we can keep going with it.”

You can visit the Roji Tea Lounge
Tuesdays through Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information,
or to inquire about displaying artwork, call 428-0844 or visit
www.roji-tealounge.com

There are a few more Syracuse
restaurants that take down and hang up different artwork on a regular
basis. Check out Pastabilities Restaurant, 317 S. Franklin St., which
is open Mondays to Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Mondays to
Thursdays and Sundays, 5 to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 5 to 11
p.m. For information, call 474-1153. Or try Provisions Bakery, 216
Walton St., open Mondays to Fridays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; call 472-3475
for details.