The night started out on the red carpet entrance with photographers and spot lights – allowing everyone to enjoy a “celebrity-esque” walk of fame. Then attendees visited the bar upstairs for their favorite refreshment; or if they had a VIP ticket, they were escorted to the 3-course dinner and private bar in the downstairs banquet facility.  From there, it was all fun!

The band Southbay got the evening started with a mix of 80′s, 90′s and current rock and pop hits. Just as the crowd was getting warmed up, DJ Skeet took the booth and provided party-goers with a beat-driven “countdown mix” to ring in the New Year. Party hats, noise-makers, beads and leis were passed out to the eager party-goers about 15 minutes before the start of the ball drop.

With drinks in hand a significant others’ waiting to lock lips, 700 people watched the clock stick :00 and celebrated the first few seconds of 2013 in style, and lots of fun!

Rock New Years 2013 @ Sharkey’s Sports Bar

At 317 Montgomery Street in Downtown Syracuse, Parisa sits on–in my opinion–one of the more interesting streets oft the city, beginning with the architecture as you stroll down the road. If you walk from the corner where Montgomery meets E. Washington, you’ll encounter several sights from City Hall, to the Onondaga Historical Association, to the YMCA, and the beautiful Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception stands proudly at the end. This street cannot be any more convenient for a Sunday; one can (in no particular order) go to mass, get in a workout, and then eat a hearty brunch.  Montgomery Street is, also, a vital arm of vendors for the annual summer arts and crafts festival.

Parisa, which was opened last year by owner Peyman Pourpezeshk, is now co-owned by Chef Chance Bear. Chef Bear should be a familiar name around the area, especially if you pay attention to the media. If you aren’t from Syracuse, or simply don’t pay attention to media, Chef Bear was named the 2012 Chef of the Year by the Syracuse Chapter of the American Culinary Association. That’s kind of a big deal.

The restaurant, named after Mr. Pourpezeshk’s daughter, is eclectic in every sense of the word. The Middle Eastern style of the restaurant embraces traditional and new American culinary aspects, combining worlds to exhibit savory dishes. Chef Bear, switching the menus seasonally, has the ability to shine and show his skill with improvisation and lots of elbow room to experiment.

Which brings me to the menu.  I went a Middle Eastern restaurant in Brooklyn not too long ago; however, it was long enough for me to not remember the name.  However, my friends and I were going eat at this place for brunch, and the excitement of trying something new was more than an avid eater could for.  Upon hearing Parisa had a Sunday brunch, I got that eater’s excitement that one looks forward to when anticipating something new.  The brisk breeze of this past Sunday only pushed me to find shelter as quickly as possible.  Finding parking on the one-way street which is Montgomery, it was easy to find a spot (especially since this past weekend sat in the middle of two family-and-friend-centered holidays.

On Parisa’s brunch menu, your favorite words pop out at you:  egg, pancake, waffle, bacon, mushroom, fritta, cheese, and many others.  However, when you see an option of bacon and Eggs Benedict with a shrimp cream sauce:  yes, my friends, you stop and ponder.  How about pot roast and home fries?  Wait–does that option say New York strip steak?  Yes, my friends it does.  However, my eyes wandered to the Crème Brûlée French Toast.

Since I was by myself, I kept my camera, dying, and a good book of poetry in hand.  I sat at the bar as couples to groups enjoyed their meals and more patrons soon entered to join the rest.  The wall-to-wall exposed brick adds to the warmth of the atmosphere, protecting you from the frigid outdoors.  Through the stained glass and large-paned windows, the sunlight skids across the hardwood floor in thin strips, mimicking flickering candlelight projections.  I don’t want to give away too much of the tangible atmosphere, because I want to write more about this place in the future.

The Crème Brûlée French Toast, shown below, came out asking me if I had brought my appetite.  I dressed the four sandwiches, stuffed with bacon and sausage, with a nice drizzle of maple syrup.  I told my server to not hold it against me, because I was going to eat all of this; she smiled, and told me that she had this earlier, but the French toast was stuffed with fruit.  Cannot complain about having options!  The bread was very light and had a very creamy flavor and texture.  The bacon was perfectly cooked, parts firm and other parts crunchy, leaving me wanting to eat more just for the bacon texture surprises.

Keep your eyes peeled for more Parisa articles on this site.  I had my first taste, starting out with the most important meal of the day, and I’m hungry for more.

Please visit Parisa’s website at http://parisarestaurant.com/. Like them on Facebook. Actually, better yet, like them in reality. All you have to do now, I ask, is repeat Parisa five times aloud. You need to let the name sink in, because you look like you could use a great reason to get out of the house on a cold, Syracuse winter’s morning.

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Christopher Malone, a life-long resident of Syracuse, is a contributing writer to Project Rock City. An avid writer and aspiring novelist, he feels more than comfortable promoting Central New York. Chris can be found on Facebook and Twitter (@Chris___Malone). Feel free to enjoy his other blogs at http://www.sporadicattic.com/ (fiction) and http://theinfiniteabysses.blogspot.com/ (nonfiction).

Sakanaya and Namu are sister sushi shops on Walton St. in downtown Syracuse’s Armory Square. Sitting side by side, they offer sushi fanatics and newbie’s the perfect combination of a fast paced sushi consumption and a sit down restaurant.

When you walk into Sakanaya, at first glance it looks like you just walked into a Jet Blue airliner.  With bright white lights lining the domed ceiling and blue highlights separating each panel, you might just think that you are “going going, back back, to Cali Cali”, on an airplane. Then, just when you think you took a wrong turn into Hancock airport, there it is – a conveyor belt chock-full of plates piled high with colorful sushi. Spicy Tuna, Tempura Fried Shrimp with Spicy Sauce, eel, salmon, California rolls on steroids…you name a crazy sushi combo, and it will probably come flying around the corner on the wonderful, never-ending conveyor belt of sushi heaven.

If fast paced sushi eating at a bar isn’t your thing – don’t worry, Namu is a sit down, restaurant-style sushi experience with a more intimate setting. While Sakanaya is perfect for a fun, outgoing date night, Namu is a more intimate experience. The menu is virtually the same as Sakanaya, but instead of watching it fly by your face before desperately lunging to grab it from the conveyor belt before your neighboring sushi lover grabs it; you get to quietly select it of the menu.

When I walked in Sakanaya was bustling with holiday shoppers and hungry sushi lovers, so I decided to go next door and sit down at Namu to eat my sushi. After glancing over the menu for a moment I new exactly what I wanted – Jalapeño Poppers, with crisp jalapeños stuffed with tuna and cream cheese, drizzled with spicy mayo and eel sauce; and the American Dream, with shrimp tempura topped with spicy tuna and crunch.  How can you go wrong with anything topped with crunch?! Needless to say it was a good lunch day for this guy.

So whether you are looking for an exciting, city-like, sushi dining experience, or a laid back, more intimate setting – Sakanaya and Namu have what you’re looking for.

…But then, the Syracuse Snarl Zombie Fashion Show started at the Landmark Theater, and Syracuse was never the same…