Sushi Park

I wasn’t able to take a picture of Sushi Park due to greasy fingers, but here’s the website for your informational purposes. 

Sushi Park is located on 2nd Avenue, between 7th and 8th Street.  Conveniently located right next to Pommes Frites, Sushi Park offers 50% off all sushi and sashimi.  I’ve heard about the place for years and years but the temptation of Pommes Frites is always too strong, so I generally go there and stuff my face with Belgian fries before heading off to do something else (probably get Beard Papa’s, actually). 

However, this past Friday night, with such great weather, SpB and I met up near 1 Broadway, and began the hour long walk to Pommes Frites.  Yes, we walked from Bowling Green to St. Mark’s Place, but the weather was nice, we chatted a lot, and we perused a few stores along the way (notably, Lot-Less, which is awesome for their Christmas stuff, and a giant scarf booth near Chinatown where I purchased a whimsical scarf for $8 that claims to be “100% Cashmere”).  By the time we arrived at Pommes Frites, we were starved and opted to share a regular size with two sauces (mango chutney for me, which was a bit creamier/smoother than I expected and a touch spicier; war sauce for her, which wasn’t bad but I discovered the peanut sauce is really good), and then head to Sushi Park next door to devirginize me of the glory that is Sushi Park.  So SpB said, anyway. 

Since we’d just consumed a load of fried stuff, SpB decided we needed more and opted to order the tempura vegetable appetizer. 

To my utter surprise and slight delight, the item in prominent focus is spinach, seemingly washed, cooked, squeezed dry then rolled into seaweed before being battered then fried.  They also included a white button mushroom, a slice of zucchini, a sweet potato slice, an onion (much like an onion ring, but better!), and, most amazing of all, a carrot.  It’s not that amazing in and of itself, but through the years, I’ve always been thrilled to get a tempura carrot, whereupon biting into it, it would become clear that it was actually a sweet potato, which sorely disappointed me each time.  The tempura veggies otherwise were yummy, but fairly run of the mill. 

From the top:
The B-52 roll, which, from MenuPages, is “an outrageous of yellowtail in a double layer tempura roll”- I was surprised to find myself really enjoying this roll.  I thought it was something else but the texture of the cooked yellowtail was different from what I’m used to, and gave an overall satisfying density to the roll.
The Nancy roll, also according to MenuPages, is “crab stick tempura, eel, cucumber, avocado & flying fish roe roll”- this was also quite good, but then, what could you cover in eel sauce that doesn’t taste delicious?  I thought this roll was well played, though from the picture, I don’t see any flying fish roe. 
Spider roll (bottom left): your standard soft shell crab tempura roll, with a generous helping of soft shell crab.
Eel & Cucumber roll (bottom right): also your standard eel/cucumber roll.

I must point out here that though the sushi is half price, they do not overload you with rice nor skimp out on fillings.  I didn’t feel like we were lacking from fillings nor eating too much rice, always a nice point when it comes to cheaper sushi joints.  The fish was fresh enough- though I’ve just realized we didn’t order any raw stuff (SpB is sadly allergic to much seafood), but regardless, I enjoyed my sushi dinner very much and was thrilled to discover that it was only about $40 total (including a ginger ale for SpB and a diet Coke for me), making it a very cheap sushi dinner.  Yummy for my tummy, and great for my wallet as well.

Yvo says:  Yummy, fresh dishes, high turnover- the place was packed on a Friday night, though we avoided the wait by sitting at the bar (shh! it’s a secret)- and cheaply priced while still delicious and filling.  I’d go here again, if I can avoid the lure of Pommes Frites next door, or perhaps another walk is in order…
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