Syracuse, NYMiddle Eastern

A Kurdish kitchen in Tully, south of the city, that This is CNY's food writers picked among Central New York's best restaurants of 2025 for the flavors of the Kurdistan region. Their year-end lists also cited its Mandi, an egg pastry filled with beef, sumac and onion served over garlicky yogurt, and its Muhammara roasted-red-pepper dip. Order the Mandi, the lamb chops kebab, the stuffed grape leaves, and the Muhammara.

A Liverpool grill house that This is CNY's food writers dubbed masters of the meats in their best-restaurants picks for 2025, cooking over hardwood charcoal on an open pit. The five-person house mix platter loads on lamb chops, lamb and chicken shish kabobs, beef and chicken kofta, grilled vegetables, house-made pita and a lemon-vinaigrette salad. Order the house mix platter with the fresh-baked pita for the table.

One of only six original vendors still standing since Salt City Market opened in 2021, per This is CNY's five-year look back at the downtown food hall. Owner Firas, whose family resettled from Baghdad in 2014, has since branched to a second location while keeping the market stand, cooking Iraqi chicken shawarma, kabab, kabsa and dolma that regulars praise for the hummus and lamb. Order the chicken shawarma wrap, the lamb kabab, and the hummus.