North Carolina Sake: Charlotte & Raleigh Sake Hotspot- "The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar"

Thursdays Sake is 1/2 Priced!

"The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar"; were to start? As the name implies this is a complex and rather confused place. I believe there are just two locations, the original in Charlotte and now they've opened in Raleigh.

More importantly however- Thursdays they offer their entire Sake selection at Half Price! Which is quite the deal and they have a good selection, further proof of what hopes to be a coming trend.

(From their website, I cannot guarantee both locations offer all of these, I'm going to highlight my recommendations in BLUE)

Gingo Premier

375 ml bottle 19

Fruity flavor and a flowery aroma, served chilled

Horin Ultra Premium Daigingo – Liquid Gold

250 ml bottle 40

The crowned jewel known to bring good fortune, a must have for the special occasion, served chilled

Kanbara – Bride Of The Fox

300 ml bottle 26

Intense aromas of grilled nuts, pistachio, and a hint of cocoa, served chilled

Karatamba

300 ml bottle 17

Medium bodied with a clear, dry taste, served chilled

Mukune Gingo – Root Of Innocence

300 ml bottle 29

Mellow and dry, rich flavor to finish, served chilled

Nanbu Bijin – Southern Beauty

300 ml bottle 28

Elegant and soft fragrance, flavor of pears and grapes, served chilled

Ozeki Yamadanishiki

300 ml bottle 16

Full bodied taste with aromas of the finest rice, served chilled

Rihaku Junmai – Wandering Poet (Wonderful name, lots of people enjoy, not a great starter bottle, and not one of my personal favorites but very popular)

300 ml bottle 26

Well-rounded flavor, drink a bottle and write a hundred poems, served chilled

Rihaku Nigori – Dreamy Clouds

300 ml bottle 24

Bright and mouth watering sweet, aromas of ripe, red plums, served chilled

Sho Chiku Bai Gingo – The Hummingbird

300 ml bottle 26

Deep aroma and rich flavor of premium rice, served chilled

Sho Chiku Bai Nigori – Silky Mild

375 ml bottle 17

Bold and sweet, pairs well with rich and spicy dishes, served chilled

Takasago Ginga Shizuku – Divine Droplets

300 ml bottle 38

Ultra premium with the freshest, cleanest taste, served chilled

Tentaka Kuni – Hawk In The Heavens (I haven't tried it but it's supposed to be excellent)

300 ml bottle 21

Well-rounded, dry with underlying richness, served chilled

Tozai Nigori- The Snow Maiden

300 ml bottle 24

Nutty and creamy, with bright fresh aromas. Mellow and easy to drink, served chilled

Zipang Sparkling Sake

250 ml bottle 17

Bright hints of tropical fruit, with a refreshingly light finish, served chilled

Divine Droplets is an extremely good Sake, it's also extremely expensive so this is a great opportunity to try it (maybe not the perfect "first" Sake). I'll have an entire post about Divine Droplets, it's made in Japan's northernmost prefecture Hokkaido in an igloo! Check it out! (Bride of The Fox and Southern Beauty are also wonderful bottles, and great "first" Sakes, Karatamba is a great first Honjozo by the way)

The menu is exhaustingly long, the sushi is good (not great) but they have a ton of variety. I did get off a pretty good photo last time I was in there (by the way the relatively new Raleigh location now is incredibly popular so get there early, and here's a TIP- sit at the bar to avoid the sometimes hour long waits)