1/2 Price Temaki Special at Friends Sushi on State

A Nice Antidote to the Sushi Burrito Trend

I try not to cringe whenever I see yet another strip mall place selling sushi burritos. I understand the appeal of sushi burritos, especially for sushi fans with big appetites and tight budgets. My friend Daniel's complaint about sushi rings true for many:

"Sushi just never fills me up. I feel like I have to eat at least $100 worth just to feel full."

Perhaps the sushi burrito will fill up skinny, poor Daniel up for less than $20. The sushi burrito gleefully supersizes temaki, or maki handrolls, into a monstrous mess of crazy ingredients and soggy nori that falls apart at the first bite. But American supersized appetites created this travesty of a trend that even has Starbucks (!) cashing in with a new menu item: the Chicken Maki Roll.

​Thankfully, Friends Sushi on State offers sushi fans on tight budgets a much better alternative: 1/2 price on selected temakis until the end of August. Instead of cramming 3 different types of fish into one giant maki, sushi fans can enjoy 3 different temakis for $15. The best part: crispy and dry nori that adds a nice crunch to every bite without the heavy grease of tempura crumbles. The chef really nails the nori at this place.

Spicy salmon and negi hamachi temakis. rock for $5 apiece.

Even better, the chef uses nice, whole slices of fish instead of chopping up finely for their Spicy Salmon and Negi-Hamachi temakis. Most places usually finely dice the hamachi so that it blends better with the scallions but I enjoyed biting into that lovely piece of hamachi and tasting little bursts of scallion.

This deal offers a great value that beats a soggy, supersized sushi burrito any day. Hopefully Friends Sushi on State continues this deal past August 30 but I will not blame them if they decide to end the deal. At $5 per temaki with raw fish ingredients, this deal likely hurts their bottom line in the long run.