One of my more frequent haunts is Cafe Zen at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham North Carolina.
While the service is just OK, and the lounging leaves plenty to be desired, the atmosphere, food and abundance of outdoor seating, make it a winner for me.
I guess the hit or miss service and having Tyler’s Tap Room, with over 100 beers on draft, just across the courtyard keep things quiet and tables available. (You will hear plenty about Tyler’s later)
Whenever I go to Cafe Zen, I get chirashi. If you enjoy sushi and have never had chirashi, order it. It may not be on the menu, but I guarantee the chef can make it. Basically its a bowl of rice with all kinds of sashimi piled on top. Soooooo goooood. It’s also fun to notice how the different chefs will prepare it at different restaurants and in different regions.
In my opinion, there is only one thing in the world better than chirashi…
Chirashi with beer.
On this particular evening, I went with a nice 22oz can of Sapporo.
First off, Sapporo is not a beer I would think to pick up at the store to keep around the house. It’s more of an immersion thing. You eat Japanese food, you drink Japanese beer. It’s just what you do. The week before, I had ordered Kirin Ichiban but wanted to try something different this time since I knew I would be blogging about it.
Saporro seems to me to be a dryer lager with slightly bitter hop to it.
As an accompaniment to my chirashi, the Sapporo was quite tasty. The aroma was salty like a Caribbean ocean breeze with hints of citrus. I noticed that the beer tasted better with salmon and snapper than any of the other sashimi. The fattier fish didn’t pair as well for some reason. When I was done eating, I drank some water then finished my Sapporo, it was more bitter and less enjoyable with a clean pallet.
Note to self, finish Sapporo before finishing dinner.
I hope you enjoyed this review.
Do you have any favorite food/beer pairings?
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