"Yaki and Sake" Thursdays Start Tonight at Chizakaya

Lakeview's Chizakaya restaurant bills itself as a Japanese pub—and with good reason. You'd be hard-pressed to find more appropriate bar food than yaki. Afterall, what's better with a few drinks than grilled meat (or vegetables) on a stick?

But what to drink with it? The clean flavors of sake are classic, even if the learning curve for many of us when it comes to Japanese rice wine is a bit steep. Chizakaya's Chef Harold Jurado is hoping to make that slope a little less slippery for the uninitiated, introducing "Yaki and Sake" Thursdays starting tonight.

We like that it (sort-of) rhymes, and if you're lucky the right pairings might actually make your night sing. After taking a peek at the bottles available, we noticed that they're mostly mild and fruity, which makes them ideal for sipping next to some nosh. What's more, the restaurant (er, pub) is selling several types of sake by the single portion so you can prime your palate with a few different styles before committing to the big bottles.

As with the libations, the food menu is relatively traditional—in a Japanese sense, at least. The a la carte "Kushi Yaki" offerings are discounted to $2 a piece Thursdays after 9 p.m., with the sake flowing at 25% off all evening long.

What exactly is Kushi Yaki? Well, after looking at this menu, what is not?

· Chicken gizzards?
· Chicken meatball?
· Chicken skins?
· Shishito peppers, bonito?
· Hakurei turnips?
· Beet and shiso?
· Sweet sausage?
· Beef cheek?
· Beef heart ?
· Confit octopus?
· Wagyu beef, lime, wasabi