Each detail of Saint Urban Wine Bar & Restaurant was chosen by its owner, Jared Stafford-Hill. Bookshelves hold a collection of titles about France and three Miles Davis record covers, including one entitled “Walkin,’ Cookin,’ Relaxin,’ Workin,’ Steamin.’”

The two main walls are decorated with large paintings showing maps of neighboring wine regions in Burgundy, France, that specialize in producing Pinot Noir. At the bar, guests get a glimpse of the work in the kitchen through a set of hanging wine glasses.

At Saint Urban, food and wine from the likes of New York City and the Burgundy region of France are accessible. The wine bar, which opened in May on Dell Street just off of Wescott Street, has no set menu.

Stafford-Hill spent 20 years cooking and consulting in restaurants in New York, Philadelphia and France before he came home to open one of his own in Syracuse’s Wescott neighborhood.

“The inspiration was really for (Stafford-Hill) to be able to use all of the skills and experience,” said Keri Levins, the restaurant’s director of operations. “Instead of cooking someone else’s menu, his ideas about food are because food really is the way he expresses his love for creativity and flavor.”

Stafford-Hill, the creator and chef of Saint Urban, said he dreams up a seasonal menu each week based on the best available produce. Recently, corn picked by a local farmer was served the same day. A recent dessert featured strawberries from New York City’s Union Square Greenmarket and raspberries from the Santa Monica Farmers Market, which Stafford-Hill called the best in the East Coast and United States, respectively.

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Wednesday through Saturday, diners can choose from a small, carefully curated selection of three appetizers, entrees and desserts for $39. Small plates are also served then, but only at the bar, which seats three. From Sunday to Tuesday, the place takes a more casual turn, serving only small, medium and large plates that can serve as a snack or be built into a full meal, according to the restaurant’s website.

“You shouldn’t have to commit to an hour-and-a-half dinner just to have a great glass of wine,” said Stafford-Hill and added that in the future they hope their wine bar extends to where patrons can enjoy a couple glasses of wine and be on their way.

The wine is selected from some of the most famous wine regions, plus some closer to home in central New York’s wine scene. Wines are available in three sizes — a method Damian Vallelonga, communications director for Saint Urban, said was done to encourage guests to try less familiar wines.

Below each wine is its phonetic spelling, helping diners pronounce some of the more intimidating names, said Vallelonga. Some of the fancier terms on the food menu feature footnotes explaining what items such as “peekytoe” crab (a virtually shell-free crab meat) and “saucisson sec”(a dried cured sausage) are.

“One of the challenges is the accessibility to a broad customer base. When someone hears about a place like this they think fine dining and they sort of form their initial impressions,” Vallelonga said.

But the team hopes that their restaurant can be a place for “anyone and everyone,” including SU students, said Levens. She also said that the restaurant truly has no target demographic.

Levens said that the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

Guests range from college-aged people to those in their 80s, Vallelonga said. As well as neighbors who wander in for a glass of wine, Levens added.
[Text Wrapping Break]“If you appreciate good food, good wine, good atmosphere and good service, there aren’t really boundaries as far as demographics go,” Vallelonga said.

The team’s goal is providing value to customers, Levens stressed, including great food, well thought out service and a menu that accommodates people looking for a range of experiences.

Levens said that people compare the restaurant to the best places they’ve eaten in New York City and said they’ve been waiting for a place like this. Stafford-Hill said that much of the staff moved to the area just to work at Saint Urban when they heard that the new place was “fun and also very ambitious and very seasonal and hands on, chef-driven and chef-owned.”

Stafford-Hill put his cooking methods in musical terms, comparing his love for jazz and how it relates his cooking method. Like how jazz songs are changed every time they’re performed, it’s the same way he cooks — by riffing off the traditional dish, he said.

Similarly to jazz, the employees take something standard and “reinterpret it in the moment,” something fun to do every week, he said.

“It’s not just about the food on the plate, although that’s important, it’s about the wine that it’s being paired with, about the lighting, it’s about the finishes,” said Levens. “There’s not one detail of this restaurant that (Stafford-Hill) hasn’t thought of for the guest’s ultimate comfort and the guest’s ultimate experience.”

emkelleh@syr.edu

Published on September 11, 2019 at 10:46 pm