Bites Around the Block: Mizu for You-zu

There is nothing I love more than sushi. While some are put off by the texture or the raw, this-looks-like-it-was-just-killed-chopped-up-and-placed-on-my-plate appearance, I could eat it for every meal. Literally. Coming from Los Angeles I am accustomed to having a plethora of sushi restaurants available to me whenever the craving comes on (and let’s be honest, that’s once a week at least). After having lived the past eighteen years of my life in a veritable sushi mecca (cue jealousy) my top priority after moving to Philadelphia was to scope out the best places to feed my addiction while at school.

Every student who has ever even visited Penn has heard of Pod. Even I lived up to the cliché and went with my mom during Penn Preview days (yes, I went to those). And while Pod is undeniably delicious and incredibly well located (it’s practically on campus), for somebody who is likely to get mercury poisoning from her (admittedly) out of control sushi habit, Pod is a bit pricey. A quick Yelp search later early in first semester led me to Mizu.

Located at 111 South 41st Street, Mizu is only slightly farther from the center of campus than Pod and close enough to walk to. Although the restaurant itself is very small (they had trouble accommodating my group of six), its menu  is not.  Mizu has all of the classic sushi, nigiri, sashimi and basic rolls you would expect. The roles are large and give you the most crab for your card, so to speak.

For those who do not like sushi, there are cooked items on the menu as well. The chicken gyoza is my personal favorite, but it is not substantial enough to serve as a full meal. The restaurant is also a BYO and delivers. So while it may not have the premium quality fish of a comparable place like Pod, it compensates with its lots price point and accessibility.