Midtown Lunch

I remembered  hearing about Vic Sushi Bar and how great it was when I moved to Philly. Somehow it has taken me this long to actually try it out. Vic’s is pretty tiny and mostly used for takeout, which is what 2 coworkers and I decided to do.

Over 50 reviews on Yelp talk about one particular appetizer- the tuna dumplings. They come 2 for $10, but we were able to get another for an addition $5 so we each could try one. $5 for a single “dumpling” is a lot, but these were at least 3 bites a piece, you can see that 3 are enough to fill a sushi tray lenghtwise, and there is no dough or filler here. A round tuna vessel is stuffed with a creamy avocado and imitation crab filling. A tasty mayo and eel sauce covered the bottom of the tray.

Meal Ticket did a great tuna dumpling battle and suggested that Machi Sushi’s  beat out Vic’s due to the real lump crab meat.

At Vic the ol’ 3 roll special is available all day, not just for lunch. 3 rolls are $10.95. I was a little disappointed it didn’t include a miso soup like most places do. Extra ingredients are 50 cents. You have a choice between a regular 8 piece roll or a handroll. I picked a spicy tuna roll, a yellowtail and scallion roll, and a Boston handroll with avocado added. The sushi was fresh and simple, kinda of what you would expect from a combo deal. With  a tuna dumpling, 16 pieces of sushi, plus a handroll, I assumed I would be beyond full. But that wasn’t the case. The pieces were on the smaller side, but I think its the lack of miso soup that accounts for me being merely satisfied instead of stuffed .

I wasn’t blown away by the Vic experience, but I would happy to get a simple 3 roll combo from their in the future. Rival Jay’s may have the upper hand because an lobster avocado roll is an option. But I wonder if it’s the fancier rolls that help Vic stand out from the many neighborhood sushi spots. Did I miss out?

Vic Sushi Bar,  2035 Sansom St, 215 564-4339