Sometimes it pays to know people in the food industry. Or know people who know people in the food industry, in this case. A friend was invited to a private tasting at Feast & Fête on Wolf St in Syracuse to try some items on their menu as they were just opening, but he couldn’t make it. So he asked the chef to reach out and invite us instead because he knew this was something we would enjoy. So along we went to a private event at a brand new restaurant to go try something new.
Feast & Fête is the brainchild of Abe Connors, a chef who has been through the ringer of the CNY culinary world and finally decided to take the plunge and try opening his own spot with a focus on combining flavors and ideas that don’t normally go together. With fête in the name (pronounced like fate, by the way), a French word meaning a festival or celebration, I had a feeling Abe was going to be celebrating a lot of different things at once. And celebrate he did. Jamaican flavors presented in a Chinese fashion. Southern food staples done with an Italian flair. American classics with a distinct South American accent. Abe went bold and wanted to celebrate the highlights of distinctly unique food from across the world in even more unique ways.
To start, we were presented with the Feast & Fête Garden, a salad with mixed greens, tomato confit, roasted peppers and a house vinaigrette and the FF Caesar with romaine, pita bread croutons, preserved lemon Caesar dressing and kefalotyri cheese. The Garden rocked me from the first bite. Crisp greens, a light but sharp vinaigrette, beautifully confited grape tomatoes, soft roasted peppers and a surprise guest of high flake salt. It takes guts to lightly sprinkle a high flake finishing salt on a salad, but I firmly believe it needs to happen more often. The salt brought the sweetness of the tomatoes forward in all of the right ways and added a touch of extra texture to what was already a well-made but simple salad. The Caesar had Chelsea literally growling at me every time I tried to take a bite. A French take on an Italian style salad with a fistful of Greek niche thrown on top for good measure. The dressing had a nice tartness from the lemon curd that played wonderfully with the traditional flavors of salt, egg and parmesan cheese that makes the Caesar the most popular salad in the world. Then you get the Greek elements from the crispy pita croutons and a sharp goat’s milk cheese in the form of the kefalotyri. This was an outrageous take on a timeless classic that hit literally every mark.
We were then given three appetizers to try, starting with Eloté Arancini. Hand rolled arborio risotto rice balls filled with charred sweet corn and cotija cheese, breaded in Italian bread crumbs and fried, then served with a garlic and lime aioli. I’m a big fan of risotto in any form and an even bigger fan of eloté, so I was ready to demolish this plate before I even tasted it. Perfectly cooked risotto, crisp sweet corn, a touch of Mexican seasoning and the lightly melted salty cotija managed to take two different styles of food and mash them into one dish. The lime aioli was a perfect choice to go with the sweet and creamy arancini by adding a hint of lime to go with the salt. 10/10 execution, could eat these little guys by the fistful.
Next came the Jamaican Jerk Bao Buns with jerk chicken, pickled Asian vegetables and a pineapple hoisin glaze. The steamed bao buns were soft and fluffy and took a Chinese staple and wrapped themselves around perfectly seasoned Jamaican jerk chicken. Then you get the vinegar flavor from pickled vegetables that still maintained their crispness despite the rice wine used to pickle them and a sweet and savory sauce from the combination of pineapple and hoisin and you find yourself with a wild blend of sweet, spicy and savory in each bite, cushioned wonderfully between a pillowly bao bun.
Last was the Truffle Fries, house-cut potato fries with truffle oil, herbs, parmesan cheese and a house aioli. Hand cut fries can be tricky, because they don’t crisp as easily due to the lack of starch powder used by factories during the brining process. Abe pulled no punches and not only brined the fries, he went to the length of tossing them in potato starch to get that classic crisp. I personally despise truffle oil because it’s a scam that is truthfully just perfumed oil sold at insanely high prices to trick people into thinking they are fancy. But, in what we learned is true Abe Connors fashion, he didn’t skimp out and actually uses real truffles in the oil instead of a base “truffle oil” you can find in most grocery stores. The fries had the same earthy undertone that truffles are beloved for coupled with the salty parmesan and fresh parsley and rosemary, all finished with a classic garlic aioli.
The next course had both of the handhelds on the menu. First being the FF Burger: a half pound Angus beef patty with lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheddar and black garlic aioli. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium, but the fusion element came from the cocoa rub used. This South American take on a USA classic was delightful in every element, but the rub pushed it over the top. A touch of cocoa flavor with a bit of sweetness from the brown and white sugars and just the right amount of cumin and chili powder, this was a love letter to spices on a bun.
After the burger came the Calabrian Honey Chicken, a southern style fried chicken breast with house-made pickles, coleslaw and Italian themed Calabrian pepper hot honey. Calabrian peppers can be particularly, but this sauce was balanced perfectly with the right amount of honey to prevent the heat from being overwhelming. Crunchy fried chicken that actually had a heavy amount of seasoning in it and a light creamy coleslaw worked well together, especially with the house-made pickles.
For entrées, we were given the Shrimp and Polenta first. Featuring shrimp, bell peppers, pancetta, onion, fresh garlic and creamy polenta, this took the idea of Southern US shrimp and grits and flipped it on it’s head to throw an Italian twist with the creamy polenta in place of grits. I am exceptionally picky with polenta because, in my experience, it’s always either undercooked or too creamy. This was neither. The cornmeal was delectable with crunchy bell peppers, crisp and salty pancetta and perfectly cooked shrimp that were peeled and cleaned in-house.
Next came the Morraccan Steak Frites, sans the Frites since we had already experienced the fries earlier. Served with a mix of medium-rare, medium and well-done, the NY Strip steaks were tender and juicy while flavored amazingly with ras el hanout seasoning. Heavy notes of cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric, the complex flavor profile of ras el hanout shined like the North Star on an immaculately seared steak.
Last for entrées we were given the Rasta Pasta without a protein. Rasta Pasta is one of Chelsea’s favorite dishes, so she was beyond excited to try this. House-made thick rigatoni, crisp bell peppers and a heavily seasoned coconut cream sauce, this was the standout of the night. The jerk seasoning balanced nicely with the sweetness of the coconut sauce and the pasta was absolutely perfect. I could have drank the sauce and died happily on the spot. Chelsea was dancing in her seat with each bite with the biggest smiling beaming across her face.
And then just when we thought we were through, Abe came out like a culinary Billy Mays with a “But wait, there’s MORE” as he brought out two desserts. First was a Matcha Tiramisu, because why not? Earthy flavors from the matcha, sweetness from the creme anglaise, texture from the rum-soaked Lady Fingers. This was an insanely unique take on an Italian classic dessert that took a traditional Japanese flavor and slammed it face-first into one another like a child smashing action figures together to play. And yet somehow it just worked. Last came a Mango Lassi Panna Cotta. So now we have Philippine mango and Indian lassi in an Italian dessert. Much like polenta, risotto and eloté, I’m an absolute sucker for mango, so I was sold before I heard any other words that were said. The lassi, a traditional Indian drink made with yogurt, milk and spices, should not have worked as a gelatinous panna cotta. But somehow it did so in spectacular fashion. I quickly found myself scraping the glass clean trying to get every last morsel of creamy mango goodness onto my spoon. My only gripe was that there wasn’t more of it.
This has gone on long enough, so let me just say that Abe Connors is on the path to making a serious name for himself in the Syracuse culinary scene if he keeps this up. There wasn’t a single miss on any dish we tried. Chef-to-chef, he invited me back into the kitchen to see his setup and witness him cooking a few of the dishes and even let me help with a couple small tasks while he made his magic. Abe has a heart of gold and a palate of platinum, because he managed to take a ton of ideas that don’t typically go together and make every single one of them a home run. And he’s doing this all by himself with the exception of Ty, a young man who has a heart for food and just wants to learn despite having absolutely zero true culinary experience. Feast & Fête is a stellar restaurant with wild and unique plates that deserves every second of your attention. From perfect salads to inventive appetizers and geniusly executed entrées all the way to toe-curling desserts, Abe and his crew have the makings of a wonderful place that just needs time to grow. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to go pay Abe a visit and try his incredible food. Chef-to-chef, I salute you, sir. You’ve got greatness in you, keep putting it on a plate like you are and I will be honored to call you a newfound friend.
Disclaimer: in our efforts to try all of these dishes, we didn’t manage to get a picture of the FF Burger, Shrimp and Polenta nor the Matcha Tiramisu, unfortunately.
625 Wolf Street
Syracuse, NY 13208m
(518) 769-3546