Because we are both trying to eat conscientiously these days, sushi has become a once-weekly menu item for my wife and I for the past several months. Lately, we've been faithfully driving to U-Yee Sushi in Iselin (forty minutes, round trip) for especially delicious but increasingly time-consuming "utility" sushi. Earlier tonight, we decided to drive about five minutes to Sushi Palace in downtown Somerville, at the long-unheeded suggestion of one of April's coworkers, for a change of pace in the sushi department.
********************************
The short story is: Sushi Palace, though slightly austere with regard to "specialty" rolls, is a remarkably delicious and reasonable budget sushi choice. It is a BYOB establishment with a $19.95 per person weekday "all you can eat" option that actually pleases the palate and offers a multitude of choices (from sushi and sashimi to teriyaki and tempura; including soup, salad, diverse appetizers and five ice cream options).
But before I get there, I need to gush a little bit about the awesome plethora of dining options that are generally available in Somerville, New Jersey. The second biggest positive surprise of where we now live (second only to the front-row seats we receive to country club fireworks each Independence Day) is how fun and delicious it is to eat in Somerville. Compared to more hoity-toity and gentrified New Jersey towns of the same size (think of Red Bank, New Brunswick, or Morristown), Somerville is not given anywhere near its proper due with respect to culinary quality.
These are just a few mentions off the top of my head, but Somerville has great standard family Italian (the original Alfonso's), great Cuban food (the wonderful Martino's), great Irish pub fare (Mannion's), about seventeen different Asian food places, as well as a multitude of hole in the wall Mexican places, all within a twenty square block, walkable stretch of Main Street proper. Somerville is way more blue-collar and not as "pretty" as the aforementioned New Jersey towns, but dollar for dollar and inch by inch, it out-noshes all of them. With the exception of Ethiopian food, I cannot think of a type of food that (a) can be found elsewhere in New Jersey but not in Somerville, and (b) that Somerville does not represent at least adequately well.
Look at the below subset of only the Japanese options in Somerville, and consider this in the context of a town that has only about 12,000 residents as of the 2010 census:
- Shumi Sushi on South Doughty: If you asked a hundred sushi fanatics in the area where the best sushi in Somerville is, 82 of them would say Shumi. (This is a fact; I did a study.) I think Shumi is slightly overrated and slightly overpriced, but it is delicious. Tucked into the back of an inside mini-mall with no outdoor sign, you feel a bit like you are dining in an illicit speakeasy at Shumi. The fish is extremely fresh but best served as sashimi because the preparation is somewhat dry and lacking in sake and rice wine vinegar. According to the reviews, you can dine there omakase (chef's choice), which I may actually try one day.
- Wasabi on Main Street: an Asian fusion place that also has a sushi bar, it is slightly less well received overall but apparently they have a slamming sea bass crunchy roll. I've never tried it, but probably will in the future.
- Yutaka, also on Main Street: Mainly a hibachi place; I've only been there for hibachi, on a double date that turned ridiculous when I decided, in a fairly severe misinterpretation of proper social conduct, to chug sake for 90 seconds in response to one of those corny "sake-bomb" gags that hibachi chefs sometimes do. Anyway, I can attest that the food was fantastic that night (though I became quite drunk on sake).
- And finally (keeping in mind I've definitely overlooked a few places), the aforementioned Sushi Palace, on South Division.
Sushi Palace is exceedingly pleasant, and from the outside, it does not look at all like a place where a group of four could conceivably dine on a four-course meal (and down two bottles of wine in the process) for only $80 + whatever you paid for the wine at the liquor store + tax. Mostly hidden at the less traveled end of a pedestrian mall, with small side entrance doors, it feels a little badass entering the restaurant - like you're on a secret mission to hunt down sushi.
You may be offered a menu, or the hostess may immediately assume that you want the all you can eat paperwork (it's not a "menu" per se, it is two sheets of paper; you can order anything you want - as much as you want - from both sheets for $20 per person on weekdays). All you can eat is a good deal, even if you're not feeling particularly gluttonous, as each category on the menu is not limited to the cheapest few options (like many sushi places). There is even a section devoted to "Special Rolls," which clearly include more pricey ingredients - amazingly, even these are included in the "all you can eat" price.
The ambiance is more steakhouse than sushi place - you sit in dark leather booths amid mood lighting. Wine glass racks exist alongside the dark and sleek sushi bar. Service is fast, polite, and unassuming, and the green tea is delicious and flavorful (unlike many sushi places in this price range, where it is way too weak). Even on the Fourth of July and while enduring 100 degree temperatures, the restaurant was half-full with families and friends enjoying delicious sushi, which suggests the place becomes decently packed on weekends.
We chose eel and salmon sushi, salmon and tuna rolls, as well as dragon and summer rolls off the "specialty" list, with fresh edamame to begin. The eel sushi was the fairest and sweetest we've tasted - though it was provided with a small portion of the "typical eel sushi accompaniment sweet sauce" on the side, we did not really need it. It was also served at the correct temperature (eel served too cold gets too rubbery).
Further, I always consider the simplest rolls (salmon and tuna) a barometer of a sushi restaurant's success, because they are deceptively challenging to make. Not only must the fish be impeccably fresh (there is no Japanese mayo or avocado to conceal flaws in these rolls) but the preparation must be nearly perfect to match the texture of the fish. So many "budget" sushi places get this wrong, either by messing up the preparation (less frequently) or simply not having high enough quality fish on hand (more frequently). Sushi Palace, at least tonight, nailed the balance perfectly - we noshed on the salmon and tuna like it was a bad habit, and these rolls disappeared the quickest. I then enjoyed a pleasant but fairly generic green tea ice cream (one scoop was enough) for dessert.
Almost by default, the "specialty" rolls were the weak point of the meal (though they were not weak). The summer roll was deliciously understated, with no mayonnaise aftertaste (I hate mayonnaise in almost every form), and the dragon roll was also decent (but with too much cucumber presence for my taste - I don't like it when something as preternaturally bland as cucumber is the dominant flavor in a sushi roll). I understand the restaurant needs to make money, but I was also a little surprised to see the "Specialty Rolls" were the same size as the regular rolls. Most people would be satisfied to spend an extra $1 per "specialty" roll if they knew that the chefs would not skimp on the ingredients or the size of the roll itself.
That criticism aside, Sushi Palace was a delicious and unexpected delight. I definitely recommend it to those in the area who want to eat a lot (or even a moderate amount) of sushi and not waste their entire wallet in the process.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (ratings take into account food quality, drink quality, service, ambience/atmosphere, and last but not least, value).
Best for: Sushi when you want to drink wine or Japanese beer (the restaurant is BYO); Sushi when you want to gorge yourself on sushi; a pleasant and quiet couple's meal
Average price: Don't go to Sushi Palace if you're not going to use the all you can eat menu - $20 per person on weekdays, $25 per person on weekends, cannot, to the best of my knowledge, be beaten for sushi of this quality, in this part of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment