Spam Is Better Fried: After All These Years, Pod is Still a Starr

Friday, March 11, 2011

After All These Years, Pod is Still a Starr

My experience at Pod was one foodgasm after another.

The food at Pod is amazing and reasonably priced, if not underpriced. It is an economical bliss with out of this world ambiance. I often find myself daydreaming about Pod when I just want to get away. When I moved to New York, I moved 3,000 miles away from home. A drive down to Philadelphia is a mere 100 miles from New York but at Pod, it feels light years and a universe away.

Pod is futuristic. It offers traditional Asian fare with a twist. The place is like an outer space playground with ever changing colored lights, a bubbly ceiling, and white on white interior. The sushi boat is a world of its own and if you fancy anime, the screens are like windows of cartoons. I saw waitresses carry out birthday desserts with sparklers. They were just one candle short of Fourth of July. The service is excellent, welcoming, accommodating, quick, and knowledgeable. Everything thumbs up.

The ultra hot weather called for mocktails, one Cucumber and Apple Spritzer and one White Peach and Mint Soda. Both were refreshing and full of fresh fruit. For dinner, we ordered the special Lobster Ramen appetizer, Tonkatsu Sandwich, and the Rockin Spicy Tuna. The Lobster Ramen was not soupy but had a creamy rich broth-like dressing. The lobster chunks were huge and tender, the vegetable medley offered crunch and the noodles were fresh and not over cooked. The Tonkatsu Sandwich could easily rival David Chang's pork steamed buns. The Rockin Spicy Tuna was food with flair. Sprinkled with black sesame seeds and prepared like little works of art, the spicy tuna was like a sushi hors d'oevre. It was topped with popcornlike tempura rock shrimp and microgreens. The meal was enough to give one an outer body experience.

Lobster Ramen

Tonkatsu Sandwich

Rockin Spicy Tuna

If Pod's tactic to get people to order dessert was to send in a tattooed dessert man instead of our friendly waitress, then it surely worked. I just can't say no to a man with tattoos. We were set on Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate (chocolate toffee bread pudding, chocolate shot with salted rim, and chocolate tart) but when TDM told us about the special Chocolate Flan we had to make our dessert choice Chocolate times four. Death by chocolate all the way at Pod. No worries, you will live to tell the tale of sweet decadence. The Chocolate Flan actually turned out to be light and was complimented by an Earl Grey Tea coulis and black cherries. I could easily devote a whole review to these desserts. Instead, just trust the smile on my face that they were all exquisite.