I ordered an eel and tuna sushi roll — and got tomato and eggplant that tasted just as good, if not better.
I tried the “Red Dragon” vegan dupe at Tomo Sushi and Ramen, a sushi bar with a line of faux fish menu options on the latest stop on my vegan culinary tour of Philly.
My husband and I stopped by the Old City dining spot on a recent Sunday night. The indoor dining room was full, so we enjoyed our meal outdoors, under a string of fairy lights in the fairly mild heat for a Philly summer night. We had to brave the mosquitoes though — but I can confirm upfront that the meal we were about to eat was worth returning home covered in bug bites.
We ordered three rolls between the two of us: The “real” Red Dragon, its vegan dupe, and a vegetable specialty roll. The Red Dragon is a spicy tuna roll topped with avocado, eel and an unagi sauce drizzle. Its vegan counterpart adds avocado inside the roll, replaces the tuna with tomato, and tops it all off with eggplant instead of eel. It still comes coated in unagi sauce — which, despite its name, is a simple combination of sake, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce.
As someone who doesn’t typically eat tuna — for ethical concerns of overfishing reasons — nor eel — for having been raised kosher reasons — I found it a treat to taste the dupes and a science experiment of sorts to try out the real deal of raw fish on fish. I had been skeptical that the vegetable alternative could match the texture and taste of seafood, but I was happily surprised. In terms of texture, I was very impressed with how the eggplant mimicked the eel. With the help of an unagi sauce drizzle, the flavors came pretty close to identical, too.
What also impressed me with the tuna substitute was that the tomato similarly matched the mouth feel of spicy tuna while taking out that too-fishy taste that often turns me off. All in all, I actually preferred the vegan Red Dragon over the “control” roll, even if it was a bit spicier than I would’ve liked.
Next up, we tried out the Harvest roll — the most complex and potentially decadent item on the menu. I was curious how all the flavors would come together: Shiitake, avocado, shibazuke (a japanese pickle), smashed sweet potatoes, fried onions, and coconut flakes. Sweet potato rolls are always my go-to, but this one turned out sweeter than expected, probably because of the grated coconut topping. I might consider it closer to a dessert roll — though we still went ahead and ordered some mochi to satisfy our sweet tooth.
Mochi is already traditionally prepared vegan, containing only rice flour, sugar, and water, but is often used to encase ice cream, which is where the dairy comes in. Tomo, of course, offers a long list of vegan ice cream flavors in addition to the milk-based classics. I found the dairy-free soft serve a little dense — but delicious nonetheless.
Rating: Five out of five! This was an all-around, five-star dining experience. The staff was friendly and the service timely, despite the fact that the place was packed. The prices were reasonable, especially for a restaurant in Old City; it’s not a bank-breaking date night by any means. I would definitely come back to Tomo — for more sushi or for a bowl of ramen.
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Tomo Ramen and Sushi is open Tuesday through Sunday from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m., and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. They’re closed on Monday.
