Downtown Sushi

It's difficult to find good sushi in New York. I'm sorry, let me correct myself: It's difficult to find good CHEAP (or at least reasonably priced) sushi in New York. There are of course tons of amazing sushi restaurants in New York, such as Masa or Nobu, but these are restaurants that are way out of my price range. Way, way, way out of my price range. Despite dreaming about the $350 Sushi Menu at Masa, my wallet simple cannot support all my culinary desires.

There are several sushi restaurants in the East Village area that boast a "half-price all day" menu, meaning you can get rolls at $2.50 a pop, which is certainly a relief for your budget, but this sushi is far from delicious, and the quality is...questionable. I ate at one of this places (I think it was called Okasa), and once I got past how thrifty I had been, I began to realize the poor quality of the sushi. I ordered a roll of tuna, a California roll, an unagi (eel) roll, and a roll of sweet potato tempura (which is one of my favorite types of sushi). All together, the total bill was about $12. The meal was less than memorable (mushy fish and cold rice), with its only upside being the price. I do remember specifically watching them make my roll of sweet potato tempura, and was kind of upset with what I saw. Instead of freshly frying a batch of tempura, pieces of pre-fried sweet potato were sitting on a plate, and seemed to have been there for some time. The result was a limp and cold roll of sweet potato tempura. It lacked the crunch that I love so dearly. Despite the price, when quality is sacrificed, as it was in this situation, I would much rather spend the money on something else.

Despite all this, I recently found a fairly priced sushi restaurant in the Financial District called Sushi Around. The sushi has been and is, at least to my experience, excellent. So good, and so well priced, that I have actually eaten there two days in a row. So far, I have tried the spicy tuna roll, the california roll, and the shrimp tempura roll, all of which cost between $4.50 and $5.00 each. The california roll is pretty good. It's made from real crab, which is a nice change, seeing as most sushi rolls at that price include faux crab. The spicy tuna roll was pretty good. The tuna wasn't quite as firm texturally as I would have liked, but the roll itself was quite tasty, not to mention beautiful to look at. The final roll, the shrimp tempura roll, was, to put it simply, amazing. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, so much so that when you would bite down on it, the shrimp practically pops, and is so sweet, it is like eating a piece of candy. Truly a wonderful experience. I should also mention that these rolls are gigantic. 8 pieces of sushi, each of them massive. 2 rolls are all I need to feel completely full. This sushi joint is a steal. The only downside is that the restaurant itself is incredibly depressing. It is tucked away on Ann Street, and at night (the only time I've been) it is completely empty. I went tonight and the only other people there were the cashier and his girlfriend (or sister?). A depressing site to see, but there is a salvation: they deliver! Hopefully business will pick up for Sushi Around, because I certainly plan on going back.