Does food pairs well with scotch?

The most popular pairing of scotch is with your favorite cigar.  But a question I find myself asking is: does scotch pairs well with food?

Well, general opinion is that scotch is too strong in flavor and in alcohol to go well with food.  It is usually a delight refrained from until after dinner.  Even in Scotland, the birthplace of Scotch, there isn't much of a tradition of drinking a dram with dinner.

However, if you are a scotch fan, and would rather not wait until after dinner to start drinking, here are some pairing suggestions: 

Appetizers:
A rare and certainly unique discovery of mine is that scotch goes well with sushi.  The flavors from both complements each other well, without either side being too overpowering. 

Fish:
I like having salmon with my scotch.  A rich fish meeting a rich scotch, the smoky flavors of the drink adds a new dimension to the salmon. 

Steaky fish like Mahi-Mahi or swordfish works well too. 

Meats:
Red meats, like grilled steak or broiled lamb, make good partners with scotch.  Steakhouse food, with bold but simple flavors, are generally good choices as they cannot compete with the smoky undertones of the scotch.  Be careful adding garlic and scotch together, as their flavor tends to clash. 

Deserts:
I don't really favor drinking scotch with desert, as the sweetness may be too distracting.  That said, chocolate-based deserts work reasonably well here.  Certainly try to avoid eating too much desert while drinking your scotch if you desire to get the most out of the drink.

Dig in, and bottoms-up my friend.