Some people knock on Drunken Fish. But I’m not sure why. I’ve been there a dozen times and had only good experiences there. They are wonderfully accommodating for gluten-free, unlike some sushi places. And they have a great happy hour menu from 4-7 p.m., making it very affordable.
A couple weeks back, I may have gone there twice in one week. (Hey, it’s down the street from my office). When you love sushi and it’s a just a hop, skip and a jump from work, you can’t resist.
So what to get? Good question. You’ve gotta start with the edamame. They are always perfectly steamed and deliciously salty. Plus, it’s a great protein starter if you’re starving.
This particular week I went, the happy hour menu looked totally different, so I’m going to take a wild guess and assume they just changed their menu. When asked about gluten-free options on the new happy hour menu, the waitress was a little confused (which I’ve never experienced before with any of the Drunken Fish staff), but nothing she couldn’t handle. As a result, the ordering experience was a little trickier this time. It seems many of their new menu items feature crab, which according to our waitress was not gluten-free.
So for Day 1 of happy hour, I got the Big Easy Roll: spicy shrimp, lettuce and asparagus topped with seared blackened tuna, 7-spice sauce and black tobiko. Now make sure to check with your server on this one – I believe they removed both the 7-spice sauce and black tobiko to make it gluten-free. The verdict? I’ve usually loved almost everything I’ve ever gotten at Drunken Fish, but this roll wasn’t my fave. It may have been the lettuce that made the taste a little off – I almost felt like I was eating a sub sandwich. If I got the roll again, I would remove the lettuce or possibly sub avocado. Other than that, it was great.
Day 2 of Happy Hour, I got a Spicy Tuna Roll (without the tempura crumbs, masago and spicy mayo). You can’t go wrong with a spicy tuna roll, and this was definitely up to par. Put a little ginger on that baby and dunk it in the gluten-free soy sauce, and I’m in sushi heaven.
I was a hungry girl today, so for my next roll, I got the spicy butterfly roll. Normally, this is served with crab, spicy sauce and asparagus, topped with butterflied shrimp, scallions, masago and spicy sesame oil. To make it gluten-free, they subbed the crab for salmon and removed the sauces. (Make sure to check with your server on ingredients).
Of course, it being happy hour and all, I had to get a cocktail. I’d recommend the Sexy Samurai (sake, vodka, Dekuyper Sour Apple, tripe sec, cranberry juice and lime juice) or the Zen-tini (sake, vodka, lime juice, triple sec and a splash of cranberry juice).
Happy sushi eating!
Until next time,
Kate
Leave a Reply