Conveyor Belt Sushi? That's Pretty Cool!
Written: Dec 10 '03 (Updated Feb 10 '05)
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Pros: Pod boasts extra funky decor, a nifty conveyor belt, and quality food.
Cons: It's a bit of a trendy place (which some don't like), and rather pricey.
The Bottom Line: If you go, sit at the sushi bar or the color-changing booths; they're by far the coolest spots. Try it, it's fun and the food's good, if a bit costly.
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| slarter's Full Review: Pod Restaurant |
Pod is another one of the restaurants owned by Philadelphia restaurant guru Stephen Starr. Most of his establishments are around the Center City or Old City areas in Philadelphia, but with Pod, Starr has moved farther west, into University City. The University of Pennsylvania, as a part of its revitalization of West Philadelphia, asked Starr to open a restaurant on their campus. Happy to oblige, he decided upon an Asian/sushi theme, and built his new establishment in the newly-constructed Inn at Penn.
The Decor
The Rockwell Group out of N.Y.C. were hired on by Stephen Starr to design the look of his new restaurant. What resulted was an oddly retro-futuristic look with echoes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and other classic sci-fi films. Angular furniture contrasts with circular recessed lighting, and two very cool circular booths with changeable colored lighting. To the left as you enter is the neon-lit bar area, while to the right is a waiting/lounge area with what seems at first glance to be angular, hard-plastic couches. Surprisingly, when you sit down on one of the cherry-red pieces, it is quite pleasingly spongy and comfortable.
Farther in and to the left is the conveyor belt sushi bar. On this can be seen small plates of sushi making the rounds, and apparently those at the sushi bar can take their pick of plates. This is rather a nifty idea, but unfortunately my wife and I were seated opposite the sushi bar, on the right side of the restaurant. Our table was much more prosaic, sad to say.
The final touch in the interior design is what I suppose is a banquet area, to the rear of the restaurant. This is decorated again in whites and plastics, but to get to it you have to push through a beaded curtain. Interesting retro touch here, and I assume during very busy times they pull back the curtain and use the area for overflow seating. When I was there, however, the area was not in use.
The Drinks
As with most fine, upscale restaurants, Pod offers many a way to get oneself pleasantly obliterated. Being an Asian-type restaurant, there is of course a decent selection of sakes (Gekkeikan, Kaori, Nigori, and others), along with a couple of low-grade Japanese beers (Asahi Dry and Sapporo... see proxam's review of an Asahi product). Stick to sake if you're indulging in sushi. Other, more interesting beers are available if you can't do sake (Hoegaarden and Sam Adams being two).
A fairly decent selection of wines is also available, ranging from a $7.50 glass of Spanish red wine to a $150 Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. Champagnes can be provided, if you're in the bubbly mood ($38 on up). Those who are feeling particularly trendy, however, can opt for a nice vodka cocktail. The Pod Saketini (Nigori sake and Stoli Vanilla) will pack a powerful punch, and various virulently-colored cocktails can be mixed for the color-coordinating boozer. I myself went for a Chopin martini, extra dry, thanks. My only small complaint was that a few specks of dust were visible floating in my martini. Just a little extra effort from the bartender would have cleared that up, but as it wasn't much, and didn't affect the flavor, I let it slide.
The Food
My wife and I had primarily associated Pod with sushi, and so were quite surprised to find a wide range of Asian foods. In addition to sushi and sashimi combination platters, there is a Dim Sum menu that includes a few interesting items. Dumplings, Rolls, and Tempura are all available under this heading, but we opted for the Kobe Beef, which is "cooked tableside on Japanese river rocks" (they could be Guatemalan river rocks for all we know, but they cooked the beef nicely). After our server had sizzled the beef on the rocks long enough, he laid them in a pool of ponzu (a sake-citrus dipping sauce), to marinate briefly before consumption. These were absolutely wonderful! The beef literally fell apart before you had much of a chance to chew it. The only disappointment was the fact that the beef slices were teensy, barely over 1/8" thick, and about the size of a half-dollar (a 50p piece, for those in the U.K.). But with kobe beef, what do you expect? $15 only buys so much of the stuff (3 pieces, to be exact).
The entrees are generally Asian, with Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon, Teriyaki Salmon, and Peking Duck, along with others. Stir frys can be had, too, from Lobster Stir-fry to Crab Pad Thai. Like I said, though, we went in expecting sushi, and sushi is exactly what we ordered. Given our appetites, we had to decide between a Sushi Large, Sushi and Sashimi Grande, and two Sushi Smalls ($64, $65, and $24 apiece). Thinking both in terms of economics and variety, I opted for the double Sushi Small order. We were not disappointed. The $24 buys you 19 pieces of sushi, including a 6-piece tuna roll, a 6-piece eel-avocado roll, and 7 pieces of assorted nigiri sushi (eel, tamago, etc.). The sushi was fresh and flavorful, and for the first time ever, I had to leave a couple of pieces on my plate! Quel surprise!
After such piggery, we decided to skip the desserts, although they would normally be tempting. A smaller version of Buddakan's Chocolate Bento Box is available, which I would have made room for had I known how good it was. The other standout dessert is the Pod Fondue Plate, which has a multi-tiered tray of various fruits and biscuits with which to scoop up the chocolate fondue. These looked amazing on other people's tables, but, sadly, never graced ours.
The Service
The service was neither phenomenal nor unacceptable, but was of pretty standard quality. Our server was perfectly nice, cheery, and willing to make recommendations. She was generally accessible when we needed her, so I would say that the service was good. If you want the ultimate in service, go to The Four Seasons, or Le Bec Fin, but for what it is, Pod's service is just fine.
Final Thoughts
Pod is undoubtedly an interesting dining experience. After reading The Great Sushi & Sashimi Cookbook, I will from now on be sitting at the sushi bar whenever I go out for Japanese food. Still, even sitting at a regular table at Pod, the wife and I found it to be a fun, flavorful restaurant experience. We're not going to be rushing back there, but that's not because we didn't enjoy it. We just want to try Stephen Starr's other sushi restaurant, Morimoto, featuring the Iron Chef Japan as its executive chef (Masaharu Morimoto). Give Pod a try, and if possible, sit in front of the conveyor belt. Or bring a large party and sit in one of the circular booths--you can change the lighting scheme to your heart's content, and what's more fun than that?
Pod's Website
www.podrestaurant.citysearch.com
My Other Philadelphia Area Restaurant Reviews:
Classy Asian fusion. Buddakan
My all-time favorite! Los Catrines Restaurant & Tequila's Bar
Good Italian. Sotto Varalli
Classy, but cold. Circa
Tons of food! Buca di Beppo
© SL, 2003
Recommended:
Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Sit at the sushi bar so you can enjoy the conveyor belt experience.
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Epinions.com ID:
slarter
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Reviews written: 131
Trusted by: 126 members
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