We’ve started almost a new standard of going out for a Murray Ave dinner each Saturday night. This week, it was time to hit up a delightful BYOB Japanese restaurant called Chaya.
We were very excited for this, because we’d never had wine with sushi before. Therefore, this called for some research on wine pairings (yes, we are total nerds who love this stuff). What we decided on was a Gewürztraminer-based white wine blend from Lot 30 Winery that we picked up on our trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It was ideal!
The restaurant is tiny, unfortunately, so plan on a bit of a wait if you go on a weekend. But trust me, it is worth your time once your food arrives!
We started with the yummy, salty miso soup. It had fluffy chunks of soft tofu in it.
Here is Michael with his glass of white wine. They charge a ‘glass fee’ for each person, but you can bring in whichever wine you most prefer!
After our soup, we had the tempura appetizer, which was shrimp but also tempura vegetables like zucchini, broccoli (obviously Michael ate that one) and sliced potato.
Eagerly waiting for my sushi to arrive!
Michael is so ready to dig into that tasty sushi!
We got deep fried tuna rolls, the Squirrel Hill roll (shrimp, cucumber, and avocado), yellowtail and scallion, a toro roll (bluefin tuna), and Alaska roll (salmon, crab, and avocado). Oh was it yummy!
As we walked back down the hill, we decided to stop into Mineo’s ice cream shop for a dessert cone. This is Edy’s Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. So. Freaking. Good.
If we weren’t full after the sushi, we definitely were after the ice cream. Perfect ending to the night!