Sushi and Sandwiches
When I first heard about Sounkyo Sushi's all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink deal, I knew I had to indulge. There's nothing like getting toasted while gorging on nutritious, non-fattening food-the combination of sin and virtue appeals to my lapsed Catholic sensibilities.
The all-you-can-eat special is $19.95 per person, and includes a selection of the standard sushi (16 kinds), and 19 different regular or hand rolls. A few surcharges apply for pieces made with yellowtail, salmon roe, scallop and shrimp tempura, and add $4.50 for each extra roll of rainbow, dragon or lobster. But if you like drunk fests, the alcohol special will make you forget every extra fee. For $14, drink as much beer (Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi), sake or house red or white wine within the two hour limit from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday & Saturday. (You must, however, purchase at least $10 of food.)
Sounkyo is nothing fancy. Neither the sake nor the wine is a fine vintage but definitely potable. I guarantee that in two hours, you can do lots of damage. Some of the pieces in the sushi special were a little too soggy and vinegary, but the spicy tuna, salmon, kani and yellowtail hand rolls ($4.95) were piquant and firm. Unagi Don, broiled eel served over rice ($13.95), hits the tongue with sexy undertones. And I feel you can always tell if a Japanese restaurant is good by their miso soup. At Sounkyo, the miso ($1.75) has a pleasant earthy flavor, not too salty. Fish haters can dine on teriyaki, tempura, katsu and noodles.
"I've been to every all-you-can-drink restaurant in New York, but the food at Sounkyo is palatable," my friend Craig shouted at me from across the table. "I come here before hitting the clubs, where drinks are outrageously expensive."
It didn't take long, about six or seven big bottles of hot sake (but who's counting?) before I was harassing the diners at the next table, a cast of prepster guys and bodacious babes chowing down their beer and sake.
By the time I got to Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwich Shop the following night, I was feeling queasy. The sugary sake hangover made my head hurt and body ache, and even after a few aspirin, I wasn't hungry. Yet, to my delight, the sandwiches at Nicky's made my taste buds perk up again.
The immaculate hole-in-the wall is sparely furnished with a few black wrought-iron tables and chairs, making it feel like a Vietnamese roadside picnic. The restaurant, owned by Teresa and Stanley Ng, features the hot hero known as a banh mi, a nice and crispy Saigon baguette stuffed with delectables. Banh mi is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Biting into one of Nicky's Vietnamese heros, you can taste the traditional flavors-sour, sweet, spicy-punctuated by lime, coriander, hot chilis, rice vinegar, fish sauce and barbecued meats.
The sandwiches are cheap ($3.95) and you have five to choose from: There's the Classic Vietnamese Sandwich, which includes pate, Vietnamese ham, roasted ground pork, pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno and mayo on a toasted baguette. The Portobello, chicken, pork-chop and sardine sandwich are all composed of the same savory ingredients.
There's also a flavorful chicken or pork chop served on rice. Vegetarians can make a meal of the Portobello sandwich, or the garden salad ($3.50). The rice-paper-wrapped summer roll ($3.50) is crunchy and studded with large chunks of shrimp.
Unlike Sounkyo, no booze is sold on Nicky's premises, but there is a Korean deli next door with an excellent selection of beer. Everybody knows the best cure for a hangover is more alcohol, so we brought a couple of cold bottles of Jever and Negro Modelo to accompany the food, and finished up our meal with sweet iced Vietnamese coffee. At last, my head was finally starting to clear up?thank god.
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