'Ladies Lunch' at Sushiman

Yet again, I ventured out for lunch today. Darryl was working from home on Monday when I had my sushi craving (and went to Bikkuri), so we got together today at Sushiman at Victoria and Richmond.

This place is practically across the street from my office, but I'd never been there before. I'd walked by many times and seen Japanese businessmen going in, so I figured it must be pretty good.

The interior was pleasant, sunny, and unpretentious. All of the adorable waitresses seemed to be Japanese (the real deal; not like me), which lends an air of credibility to the place.

I had great intentions of having a straightforward and healthy sushi lunch, but I was foiled again. There was something on the menu called the 'Ladies Lunch', which I had to order because I always wondered what a lady should eat. Darryl ordered the straightforward sushi lunch.

I wonder what sort of lady they had in mind when they created this combo. An Olympic shot putter, maybe? Darryl's straightforward sushi lunch was a standard size and came on an elegant, small wooden board. The waitress' arm strained under the weight of my 'Ladies Lunch', which was served in a bento box. It comprised of 6 California rolls, seaweed salad, a small piece of cantaloupe, and a whole mess 'o tempura (not again!).

The California rolls were the best I've had in a long time. They had actual fish roe in them and the avocado was ripe and creamy. And they were a nice, dainty size. The seaweed salad, however, was quite a disappointment. I thought that it would be that great wakame salad that you see at Bento Nouveau and St. Lawrence Market as well as many other places. It turned out to be the regular (and not very fresh) iceberg lettuce salad with little bits of chewy seaweed and lots of gloppy miso-sesame dressing. Ew. The cantaloupe was okay if a bit overripe and tasteless. And the tempura was passable, but not as good as Bikkuri. It's all in the crispy exterior. Bikkuri's was snowy, fluffy; Sushiman's was like the tempura I've made at home. There was a nice selection of vegetables in it though: pumpkin, potato, sweet potato, carrot, onion, mushroom, green pepper. Thankfully, Darryl had some so I didn't eat all of it.

The bill came to an astounding $20 for the two of us. Despite all my complaints, I'd definitely go again. This time I would order sushi and sashimi only. Or try one of their cooked dishes like donburi. It's quite a deal. Pretty much all the lunch items are under $10.