Tasu in Brier Creek

One my Jessica and my favorite restaurants in our area is Tasu Asian Bistro (http://www.tasunc.com/ but don't be alarmed at the amateurish website!) in Brier Creek.  Tasu is a sister restaurant to Shiki Sushi in Durham (http://www.shikisushionline.com/) and has essentially the exact same menu, always featuring buy-one-get-one-free sushi in addition to Asian dishes from a variety of cuisines.  We particularly like the bar area as a place to get together with friends to enjoy drinks and sushi, although it gets EXTREMELY crowded on Friday and Saturday nights.

When I first started going to Tasu, just as it opened, I focused almost exclusively on specialty sushi rolls, ignoring their other items.  While you can find better sushi at Sono or Mura (my two favorites in the area), you'll find Tasu's rolls to be typically well-made, fresh, and flavorful.  Add in the buy-one-get-one-free deal and you can have two solid sushi rolls for ~ $15 or so.  My favorite rolls are the Crunchy, Crazy, Wasabi, Special Maguro, and Shiki Crunch; all feature either tuna or shrimp and, with the exception of the Wasabi roll, a sweet sauce that I find particularly pleasing in my sushi.  The Wasabi roll is instead dressed with a wasabi cream that has great flavor with no true heat.  Other favorites of Jessica and friends are the Florida, Special Yellowtail, Nemo, and San Francisco.  I've had two rolls here which I found to be bad; the Tasu roll and the Bagel roll.  Unless their descriptions sound too good to pass up, I'd avoid these at all costs.

Lately, Jessica and I have been taking advantage of their "Dinner for Two for $30" special where each person gets soup or salad, the couple shares an appetizer, each person chooses and entree, and then splits a dessert.  The entire menu is fair game for this special, and I've found the variety of dishes offered to be extremely flavorful and fresh.  Tasu features several good appetizers, from typical edamame to crab rangoon to a shrimp and vegetable tempura that is very well made.  For entrees, I particularly like the drunken noodles with shrimp, which consists of perfectly-cooked shrimp paired with broad noodles, basil, and peppers.  Their versions of Chinese classics are also very good, and all main courses can probably serve as two meals to most people.  The four courses each couple gets would be a reasonable deal at $30 for a single person, but it is truly too good to pass up for a pair!

When giving an overall review of Tasu, I'd split between the sushi and cooked options.  The sushi is very good, typically fresh, and economical; it is not, however, as good as some of the higher end places in the Triangle, nor would you expect it to be for the price really.  I've had excellent experiences and others that were so-so, but I've never had a major issue with any of the rolls I've ordered.  The rest of the menu, in my opinion, stands up well to comparisons with other Asian restaurants.  I am not sure, especially for the value, that you can find better made dishes with as much flavor and variety as Tasu offers.  Spanning from Chinese to Japanese to Thai to Vietnamese to Indian cuisines, the menu will have something for everyone, and leave you wanting to come back to try another dish. 

I'd recommend Tasu highly to anyone who is looking for good food and a fun night without spending a fortune.  You really can't go wrong with the sushi or the other entrees they offer, and you'll be treated to a friendly bar staff that will give you the keys to the music for the night (using your iPhone or iPod if you bring one)!