{"id":36044,"date":"2018-12-27T15:50:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T20:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=36044"},"modified":"2018-12-27T15:50:17","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T20:50:17","slug":"the-best-chefs-of-the-year-sushi-meets-cheese-at-chizu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-best-chefs-of-the-year-sushi-meets-cheese-at-chizu\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Chefs of the Year: Sushi Meets Cheese at Chizu"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/span>n a trendy stretch of Alder Street in downtown Portland<\/a>, Ore., this cozy cheese bar looks to Japan for inspiration. Along the wooden bar at Chizu<\/a>, beneath a ceiling strung with origami cranes, you\u2019ll sit along a row of glass displays\u2014but instead of fresh fish chilling inside, you\u2019ll find several cheeses on display. Take a seat\u2014there are only 17 of them\u2014then grab a menu and check bites off the list, or go omakase<\/em> and let the monger behind the bar be your guide. It might evoke a sushi spot, but cheese is the star here\u2014chizu<\/em>, after all, is Japanese for cheese.<\/p>\n

For owner Steve Jones<\/a>, Chizu was born from a bite of mackerel. \u201cI was eating sushi with my family one night and I thought, hold on, this could be cheese<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cFor a couple of bucks, you can try a bite of almost anything. The lightbulb went off in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

He opened Chizu in 2015, but while the concept may be new, Jones is no stranger to cheese. With over two decades in the industry\u2014and even more in specialty food before that\u2014Jones also runs the nearby shop Cheese Bar<\/a>, which has been a go-to for Portland foodies since 2009.<\/p>\n

While Jones hoped the sushi-meets-cheese-bar concept would catch on quickly, it took a bit before the space found its footing. In its third year, though, it\u2019s thriving: Chizu has become as much a must-see for food-focused tourists as it is a weekly haunt for locals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Following the chef\u2019s-whim dining style of counter-focused sushi bars, Chizu\u2019s omakase<\/em> leaves it all up to the monger. (\u201cWe do ask if there are any no\u2019s in their cheese world,\u201d Jones says.) Curious eaters simply pick a price point and the monger meets it, serving up a swath of slices matched with standards like nuts and dried fruit, or more adventurous accompaniments like Japanese-inspired pickles that are fermented in-house. Sips of beer, cider, wine, and sake round out the tasting.<\/p>\n

Like the clientele, the menu is an equal mix of Oregon and Europe. Wary of putting Chizu in a \u201clocal\u201d box, the team is careful to balance Portland products with foreign options. And with more than half of customers opting for omakase<\/em>, Jones doesn\u2019t want to play it safe, describing their cheese choices as \u201cfairly esoteric.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people give us that trust, we love to really blow their minds,\u201d Jones says. With 30 cheeses on the menu at all times, Chizu changes at least five of those per week. \u201cWe want people to be able to come in two times a month and have a very different experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a plus for the mongers, too, who have \u201ccomplete freedom\u201d with their pairings and are constantly creating different combinations. Jones likes to keep the mongers excited: \u201cIf you had the same 30 cheeses every day, it would get boring pretty fast, so it\u2019s fun to give them new challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

No matter who makes up the mix inside Chizu, the close quarters make for a focused intimacy, the type of place where you learn and laugh while luxuriating in a spread of cheese. \u201cIt\u2019s super intimate,\u201d Jones says. \u201cEveryone is chatting with each other. They\u2019re comparing cheese and talking about where they\u2019re from. It\u2019s so small that it can be that really easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Top Pairing Picks for 2018<\/h2>\n

Mara Seaweed Applewood Smoked Dulse Flakes <\/span><\/h4>\n

Try it with<\/i>: \u201cReally ripe Camembert,\u201d says Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s really visually striking, but it\u2019s also a super umami boost.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

Purely Artisan Dehydrated Honey <\/span><\/h4>\n

Try it with<\/i>: \u201cA really fatty blue cheese like [Shepherd\u2019s Way Farms] Big Woods Blue or Roquefort,\u201d Jones says. Try chopping the honey and layering between cheese for crunch: \u201cYou get the honey flavor but with a totally different texture.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Gose  <\/span><\/h4>\n

Try it with<\/i>: Goat Lady Dairy Providence. \u201cThe salt in the beer latches on to the salt in the cheese,\u201d says Jones. Plus, the beer\u2019s sourness finds a fine match in the zippy goat\u2019s milk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yakami Orchards Yuzu Marmalade <\/span><\/h4>\n

Try it with<\/i>: A dense, fudgy ch\u00e8vre like Vermont Creamery Bijou. \u201cI really like this marmalade with fresh goat cheese to play off that tangy citrusy note,\u201d says Jones. Add an Effie\u2019s corncake for crunch. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Drink of choice<\/b> <\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cCider is a secret weapon,\u201d says Jones. \u201cIf you don\u2019t know what to bring, bring cider. Off-dry or semi-dry will work with almost any cheese.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>What\u2019s great about cheese in 2018?<\/b> <\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more technical expertise to be had, and a lot of sharing,\u201d says Jones. \u201cThe willingness to share, that wasn\u2019t there 10 years ago; it was more keeping people at arm\u2019s length. I find that very refreshing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In downtown Portland, this trendy cheese bar looks to Japan for inspiration. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":36045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3386],"tags":[3735,7727,2825,7802,7510,7804,2579,4733,6468,7803,7806],"coauthors":[1504],"class_list":["post-36044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chefs","tag-3735","tag-best-chefs","tag-cheese-bar","tag-chizu","tag-japan","tag-omakase","tag-oregon","tag-pairing","tag-portland","tag-steve-jones","tag-sushi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Chefs of the Year: Sushi Meets Cheese at Chizu - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In downtown Portland, this trendy cheese bar looks to Japan for inspiration.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-best-chefs-of-the-year-sushi-meets-cheese-at-chizu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Best Chefs of the Year: Sushi Meets Cheese at Chizu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In downtown Portland, this trendy cheese bar looks to Japan for inspiration.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-best-chefs-of-the-year-sushi-meets-cheese-at-chizu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-27T20:50:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/chizu.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1158\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bettina Makalintal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bettina Makalintal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-best-chefs-of-the-year-sushi-meets-cheese-at-chizu\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-best-chefs-of-the-year-sushi-meets-cheese-at-chizu\/\",\"name\":\"The Best Chefs of the Year: Sushi Meets Cheese at Chizu - 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