Kikku… Trying to prove there is such a thing as good, cheap sushi in Midtown
Searching for good, cheap sushi in Midtown has always been a difficult proposition. It is not hard to find since every single deli now has a sushi bar. But how cheap is too cheap? At some point, when raw fish costs too little, you have to wonder whether eating this food that makes no financial sense for the people selling it, is going to make you sick (or taste just plain terrible). Now, some people can’t or won’t eat cheap sushi, and I can totally appreciate that mentality. After a meal at Sushi Seki or Soto, it’s easy to understand why there is a group of people (usually with a ton of money) who would never eat cheap sushi. I’m not one of those people. I can appreciate both ends of the sushi spectrum- in the same way I can enjoy a fast food hamburger while still appreciating the greatness of a steak from Peter Luger’s. Similar ingredients, of very different quality, with different preparations.
In the end, it’s all about balance. The goal- finding something that is not so cheap it’s just gross, but not too good, because then it ends up being too expensive for Midtown Lunch’ing. I’m pretty excited for the new conveyor belt sushi place opening at the end of the year, but I know in my heart that filling up at Sakae Sushi for under $10 is going to be a very difficult task. In the end, I can’t seem to find an end all be all for cheap sushi. There are some delis with decent sushi counters (Cafe Duke is ok, as is Variety Cafe on 48th btw. 5+6th), but none that I would wholeheartedly recommend. Yummy Sushi in rock center is pretty bad. Kiiroi Hana, a restaurant that served to go sushi on the sidewalk of 56th St. was pretty good, but it closed. In the end, even good pre-packaged sushi is still pre-packaged, and your best bet is to find a sit down place with a really good lunch special
My favorite, hands down, used to be Wu Kong on 46th, a Chinese/Japanese combo, but it closed over a year ago- leaving me searching for a replacement. Taki Sushi on 48th btw. 5+6th is pretty good, but when I wrote about that place I got a ton of people who recomended Kikku on 55th btw. 5+6th, claiming that it is the best cheap sushi in Midtown.
I finally made it down there last week. What we ordered, and a +/- after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:59 am, October 29th, 2007 under 55th btw. 5+6th, Sushi.
It’s just outside of the “official” Midtown Lunch Boundaries, but I’ve been meaning to make it up to Katagiri for awhile- hearing for months now that it’s a pretty sweet Japanese Market on 59th btw. 2+3rd. When I finally made it up there, I was surprised to find that the sushi and bentos available for purchase during lunchtime, are actually supplied by 
I have already written a ton on Chiyoda, not only about the 
In the far reaches of Midtown, there exists a magical place whose enormity, and depth of choice, is only eclipsed by its price. A wonderland of lunches, that makes 
This place I speak of is Whole Foods, and I finally got a chance to check it out last week for lunch. It rests on the Upper West Side corner of the Midtown Lunch boundries, on 8th Ave. & 59th St., Columbus Circle, in the basement of the Time Warner Center. It is easily the best “Grocery Store” in Midtown, and despite its high prices and questionable business practices, the food is undeniably fresh and of a much higher quality than any other place in our area.
You still have five more days to enjoy 
Restaurant week is not without its flaws (it’s not really that great a deal, and you often get what you pay for), but when your wife offers to pay for it- you’d be crazy to say no. Right? See, my wife is one of those lucky people who gets to eat out on her company’s dime every once in awhile- and her guilt over getting to go to these great lunches and dinners (without me) often results in her treating me to meals that we would probably never go to otherwise. (I’m still waiting for my dinner at Del Frisco’s- a place that I’m pretty sure you can only enjoy if you are not paying.)
After doing this site for over a year, I have become the go to guy for lunch recommedations at my work. And while I’m usually pretty good for a decent suggestion, there is one request that has, and will always stump me. “Where can I get something healthy?” I’ve been to a ton of places in Midtown, and they all have one thing in common. None of them are healthy. (Look at my 
What can I say? Fat guys don’t eat healthy food. If we did, we wouldn’t be fat anymore, and then we couldn’t make jokes about how fat we are for the amusement of people who read our websites. Plus, you’re not going to trust a skinny guy to tell you where good food is. I guess I wouldn’t mind eating healthy, if it tasted good- and they gave you more of it. Healthy food is always less filling. Maybe if they had healthy food, in an all you can eat buffet form, I’d be down with it.
There seems to be a new trend emerging in Midtown. Korean food is taking over! It seems as if everywhere you go, someone is serving Korean food in an unlikely place. It is almost as if the Korean restaurant owners in Midtown have realized, “We don’t have have to serve Mexican food and Sushi! Our food is delicious, and people will eat it!” Sure, a lot of people still don’t know what Bulgogi is (it is Korean BBQ’d beef by the way), and Bi Bim Bap sounds like weird Jazz… but it doesn’t change the fact that if you like Asian food, you should not be afraid of Korean. It’s delicious, and this is a welcome trend. 
For me, the whole thing started with 
Pro Hot Bagel, a deli on 56th btw. 5+6th has been taken over by Korean & Japanese food. It started slow when a few months ago they added a small sushi bar to their mammoth list of sandwiches (and bagels). But recently they have gone all out, adding a Udon/Soba station, that also serves Bento Boxes, Bulgogi Boxes & Bi Bim Bap.
Ever since Wu Kong closed on 46th btw. 5th & 6th, I’ve been searching for a cheap sit down Sushi restaurant with a good lunch special close to the office. Sure, Wu Kong was one of those split Asian restaurants, half Japanese/half Chinese (always a bad sign), but the sushi was good, and for under $10 you got two rolls and a miso soup. Their Chinese food specials were good too, they gave you free peanuts while you waited for your meal, and once, awhile back, my wife and I were convinced we saw Lindsay Lohan eating there (that means it had to be good!) It wasn’t the best, but it was our place- and since it closed there has been a cheap lunch special sushi void in our lives.
Well, salvation has come in the New Year. As 
If Sushi or Sashimi is your thing, they have very nice, generously portioned sushi lunch specials for a pretty decent price. The Sushi lunch is $8.95, Sashimi Lunch is $9.95 and the Sushi/Sashimi combo lunch is $12.95. The table next to ours ordered these and they looked better than average. They also have various Udon Noodle soups ($6.50 apiece), Don Buri specials (sweet Japanese stews) and all the usual Teriyaki, Katsu, Tempura and Negimaki specials you would expect. Everything comes with miso soup and a salad (except the soups, which only come with a salad).
Right before Thanksgiving I posted 
