Sushi Restaurant Parodies Food Pairings With Pot

DENVER (CBS4) - One Denver restaurant is creating a buzz with food pairings -- pairing menu items with certain strains of pot.

It's similar to how restaurants often pair certain wines or beer with different dishes meant to compliment each other.

"A few of our pairings are the Pakastani Kush and Pakalolo Shirmp... Purple Rain and Poke Don," said Hapa Sushi Corporate Manager Jessica Brookhart.

The new menu at Hapa Sushi is creating buzz-- literally. The Colorado sushi chain has been inundated with phone calls asking if they are really serving pot with their sushi. The answer is no.

"This is entertainment," said Brookhart. "It's just for fun. For people to come in and laugh a little, if they can or learn a little."

She said the menu is a spoof, a parody on pot legalization.

"We're not serving marijuana with our food. We all know it's illegal for smoke to be in any restaurant or within 100 feet of a restaurant door," said Brookhart. "They're thinking they're sitting next to someone who is going to be smoking week and eating food."

The placards with the pot pairings are on tables inside the restaurant, in the restrooms and running in some publications. They'll be around for about a month but aren't

Hapa Sushi has four locations between Greenwood Village, Denver and Boulder. The chain is known for their tongue in cheek advertising that poke fun at themselves and current issues.

Patrons are taking it all in stride.

"I'm excited for it. I wanted it to happen for a while. And I think it's going to be good to pair pot with delicious food," said Ben Gallagher.