On June 8, a new bar and restaurant was
added to the list of eateries along East Genesee Street, in a space
that formerly occupied the Win Hope Chinese restaurant. “{Syracuse
University} Chancellor Nancy Cantor even showed up to wish us luck,”
recalls Dolce Vita’s general manager, Anthony Corcoran.
And why not? Dolce Vita, which means “the sweet life,” is located at
907 E. Genesee St., which is right within the Connective Corridor,
Cantor’s brainchild for a culture-oriented route from SU through
downtown and into the Near West Side.
Grand plans: Anthony Corcoran and Jason Jessmore discussed their ideas for Dolce Vita in May, a few weeks before they opened the eatery.
Franco Vigliotti owns the building, which includes his own Franco’s Pizzeria
next door. He saw the possibilities of a spot that would be an
attraction to SU students, the staffs of nearby hospitals, office
workers and those attending Syracuse Stage performances, just across
the street.
Named after the 1960 Federico Fellini movie La Dolce Vita
with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg, Dolce Vita suggests an
Italian restaurant, but the food is more globally inspired, according
to executive chef Jason Jessmore. Jessmore was a chef in
restaurants around the Fulton and Oswego area. “We interviewed a slew
of chefs, all with much more experience than Jason, but he just blew us
away,” Corcoran recalls. Jessmore’s world bistro bounty includes dishes
from the Mediterranean, India, New Orleans, the American Southwest and
Italy.
Beers and wines are available to
complement the food, or to drink alone. Choose from craft beers like
Sam Adams, Middle Ages, Red Sea and Dogfish Head. There is a selection
of wines and cocktails and work is progressing on a signature drink
that will be orange and blue, according to Corcoran.
Dolce Vita is a cozy, funky and urban
one-room space. Black, tin ceilings look down onto mauve-painted walls,
wood paneling and exposed brickwork, and black, filigreed wrought iron
sits atop a half-brick wall that divides the dining area from the
mirrored bar. Corcoran—who is no stranger to the area, having been
one-time house manager for Syracuse Stage and Pastime Athletic
Club—managed to place a performance stage within the small interior,
reminiscent of past jazz bars, minus the smoke. Live bands and open
mike nights are in the works. Add to the decor art and photography by
local artists to be displayed on a rotating basis. “I can’t tell you
how many artists contacted us about showing their work,” says Corcoran.
Corcoran believes that no matter how
great your business may be, if no one knows about it, there won’t be
any customers. Consequently, he has run a barrage of advertising,
including in the Syracuse New Times: “Bring in the ad for a buy
one get one free drink.” Sounds like a deal! Corcoran even placed
announcements in Syracuse Stage programs before their season ended,
giving a heads up of what was to come across the street. And the Web
site, www.dolcevitabar.com, serves as a worthy introduction.
While it is unmistakably a unique
establishment, Dolce Vita has capitalized on some of the winning
aspects of Armory Square’s eateries, like Pastabilities’ lunch buffet
bar, and the Empire Brewing Company. But Corcoran has inaugurated all
kinds of innovations to attract a curious and diverse clientele. He
invites you to bring in a CD of your favorite music to play while
dining, like soothing Frank Sinatra or jazz greats. When the bar scene
shifts into high gear, you might want to kick it up a notch. Add tavern
games, chalkboards and magnetized boards for poetry slams.
The lunch buffet, offered between 11 a.m
and 2 p.m., features generously portioned items that stay within the
global theme. Salads range from $3 for a side to $6 for an entree;
soups are $3 and hot dishes cost $6 to $8. Like the setup at
Pastabilities, food is displayed in chilled bowls for cold items or on
steam tables for hot fare. When you make your choice, a server from
behind the bar will plate it before you place it on your tray.
While the buffet items vary every day, a
lunch menu might include Greek chicken, set on a bed of sauteed
spinach, sprinkled with Kalamata olives and topped with a feta cream
sauce, accompanied by roasted rosemary red potatoes, local squash and
zucchini, for $8. Thai beef with fresh vegetables, pasta and Thai chili
sauce was listed for $6. An Indian Barbados salad makes a great summer
dish out of apples, coconut and mandarin oranges; it’s $3 for a huge
portion, enough for a meal for many diners.
You might find chicken cacciatore or New
Orleans steak, both for $8 (vegetable and starch included), or perhaps
a sunflower seed, craisins and jicama salad or a Brutus salad (as
opposed to Caesar, get it?) with croutons and Asiago cheese on romaine.
A side is $3; entree is $7.
Eight sandwiches are priced between
$5.50 for the All-American, grilled cheese and tomato on sourdough, up
to $8 for seven other choices. Corcoran has also added a bit of history
to the menu descriptions, like the “Pastrami,” citing that the dish and
word were brought here in a wave of Jewish immigration from Bessarabia
and Romania in the second half of the 19th century. The “Holy Cow,”
hot-roasted shaved beef au jus, apparently originated during the Middle
Ages when the bread doubled as a plate. All come with homemade potato
chips.
For dinner, a global culinary tour could
include nine appetizers like fried homemade ravioli du jour for $7 or
the Egyptian Pyramid, a compilation of items from around the globe, for
$15. Under the bistro listing are seven items including negamaki
(beef), chicken or tofu skewers, fresh vegetables over rice with sweet
teriyaki sauce for $7, a selection of cheeses with two glasses of house
wine, a nice after-theater offering for $15.
Lasagna or Japanese tempura du jour, at
$10 each, cater to vegans. There are three homemade pasta dishes, four
chicken and three pork selections, from $11 to $18.
A special feature is “Call Your Own
Cut.” Order their New York strip steak in either an eight-ounce ($12),
12-ounce ($14), 16-ounce ($16), 24-ounce ($20), 32-ounce ($28) or, if
you can handle it, a whopping 48-ounce size for $48. Then pick the
style in which you’d like it prepared: New Orleans, Cowboy Francais,
Black and Bleu Mizzou, or the United States Backyard, “killed,
seasoned, grilled.”
There are also “Daily World Tours”
specials which might include a culinary trip to Jamaica where you may
feast on Red Stripe chicken—the bird simmered in coconut milk, jerk
spices and Red Stripe beer, onions, peppers and garlic—served in a rice
bowl for $14. Add fried plantains for $5, or a Red Stripe for $4.
Desserts are not listed on the menu, but
are made on the premises, and like all other items, vary daily. “I make
an awesome tiramisu,” boasts Jessmore. There are also future plans for
Dolce Vita opening at 8 a.m. to serve coffee and bagels.
Corcoran has far-reaching ideas for this
part of the Connective Corridor. He hopes to convince everyone in the
area to participate in group activities at Forman Park along the 700
block of East Genesee Street. He envisions live bands and possibly
teaming up with the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. “I’m thinking of an elephant,
or a caged tiger,” he says about the attention-grabbing suggestion.
Puppets from the Open Hand Theater is another idea, plus street
performers like jugglers and acrobats. “Things that are a little out of
the ordinary,” he notes.
Dolce Vita is open for lunch, Mondays
through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and for dinner Mondays through
Saturdays, 5 to 9 p.m. “The bar will remain open so long as there are
customers who want to stay around, especially after Syracuse Stage
performances” says Corcoran, noting that it could be as late (or early)
as 2 a.m. For more information about Dolce Vita, call 475-4700.
Green scene: The exterior of Dolce Vita brings a verdant view to urban East Genesee Street.
