This isn’t so much a review as a shout out. Seriously, I haven’t been this excited since I discovered the $4 Royal Burger at The Khyber last month. Above all, living on a shoestring budget has left me craving sushi and at long last I have found a place to satisfy my craving. Yeehaw!
My friend Shabbat Dinner Man recommended that I check out Vic Sushi Bar in Rittenhouse Square, claiming that the 3 Roll Special at Vic would cost me a mere $10.95. No shit? I replied. I was there before the tide turned.
I don’t mess around with sushi. Crappy, pre-made grocery store sushi just leaves me craving the real thing all the more, and what’s the point of that? Let me explain, I was raised in Portland, OR, which boasts an incredible number of southeast Asian restaurants, and I grew up eating a lot of Japanese food in particular. I was not unaware of the curiosity of my fellow third graders when I pulled out inari and futomaki from my lunchbox; in fact, I got a real kick out of it.
All of the fish at Vic’s was incredibly fresh, buttery and sweet. The rolls in the 3 Roll Special aren’t huge, of course, but with each roll comprising eight pieces each, I left quite full. Better still, Vic’s didn’t do what most “good deal” sushi bars with do: they didn’t make the rolls heavy on rice. Omega 3 Mama, who’s a bit of a carbohydrate-a-phobe, would have approved. Best of all, the fish really was some of the best quality sushi grade fish I’ve tasted in Philly. We ordered the Alaska Roll, the Philadelphia Roll and the Spicy Tuna Roll. Yes, awesomely enough, you get to create your own 3 Roll Special from a sizable list:
Futomaki (crab stick, egg, avocado, cucumber, masago)
Boston Roll (shrimp, cucumber, mayo)
Philadelphia Roll (salmon, cucumber, cream cheese)
Alaska Roll (salmon, avocado)
California Roll (crab stick, avocado, cucumber)
Spicy Salmon Roll (Salmon and, uh, spicy, of course)
Spicy Tuna Roll
Shrimp Tempura Roll (also known as Wuss Roll)
Eel Roll (also known as delicious)
Yellowtail-Scallion Roll
Salmon Roll
Tuna Roll
Inari Roll
Seaweed Salad Roll
Asparagus Roll
Avocado Roll
Cucumber Roll
In addition to the special, Hot Tamale Man ordered the Birthday Roll since it was, you guessed it, his birthday. The Birthday Roll ($12.95) came wrapped in pink-colored “soy paper.” To be sure, the pink color of the soy paper was a novelty, but I would have preferred the salty, earthy taste of seaweed against the flavor of the buttery salmon coupled with both white and yellowfin tunas, avocado, cucumber, oshinko and masago. Vic’s features a number of rolls with untraditional wrappers, including the Tiger Roll (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado and masago) that our neighbors at the sushi bar ordered, which is wrapped in white seaweed.
Vic’s might be a big bargain but it is one tiny place. There aren’t any tables and are only seven seats at the sushi bar. Between the limited seating and the free delivery (for orders of $10 or more, which means that the special is included!), it’s no wonder that we saw them prepare three times more orders for delivery than for in-house customers. The atmosphere is bright but not institutional and the service is friendly and—dare I say it?—genuine. Honestly, I was tempted not to write about this place, lest it becomes even harder to get a seat, but nobody reads this blog anyways, right?
Vic Sushi Bar
2035 Sansom Street
Lunch & Dinner Monday-Friday
Dinner Only Saturday
Closed Sunday
Last week my friend Leg of Lamb Boy and I hit up our neighborhood Laotian restaurant, Vientiane Café, for an upscale but still frugal dinner. We kicked off the meal, of course, with their Green Papaya Salad ($7). Instead of cherry tomatoes, Vientiane combined the shredded papaya with chopped plum tomatoes; these have a more concentrated flavor and therefore weren’t overwhelmed by the dressing, which struck a pleasant balance of spicy and sweet and had a nice acidity to it. Without a doubt, it’s the best green papaya salad I’ve located on either side of the Schuylkill.
In contrast, I am happy to report that the Homemade Sausages ($11) nearly trumped the green papaya salad victory. My former roommate, Picklin’ n’ Bakin’ Lady, used to rave about them so when I started eating meat again this fall—after no less than a fourteen-year sabbatical—I put these sausages near the top of my To Eat list. And what homage to lemongrass they were! Seasoned also with fresh cilantro, the sausages were pan fried until crispy on the outside while the pork filling remained incredibly moist and sweet. Truth is, I think Thai sausages have joined the short list of dishes I can’t not order when they appear on a menu.
