Well, it's about time we got ourselves here. Admittedly, it was again, This is Plant Curious that provided at least some of the motivation as Vegan Shoku is included among the many decent offers available to members. So we found our way to 2260 West 41st with high expectations for a cruelty-free sushi lunch.
In addition to the Plant Curious deal, we arrived during happy hour which runs 11:30 to 4:30 from Monday to Friday and happily for us was also applicable on Labour Day!
We started with the Vegan Calamari. This has a base of potato and soy but really does taste more like squid than potato. As far as texture is concerned it wasn't completely squid-like like but we weren't disappointed about that. With a nice creamy dipping sauce, we liked this a lot. 
On the happy hour menu was the Eggplant Salmon. We are glad that our server suggested this. It wasn't overwhelmingly salmon tasting but it was very tasty and included vegan crabmeat, vegan salmon, arburi sauce and a quick sear.
The Salmon Tower was a beautiful thing. More vegan salmon and crab. I did learn that the salmon is made from the root vegetable konjac. I'm not sure what the process is but the result is something that looks very much like salmon complete with fat lines. The taste would fool anyone but it is very pleasant as is the texture. It was much better than some vegan salmon that we have tried. With mango coulis and tobiko made of I'm not sure what, this was an impressive plate.
Our This is Plant Curious membership provided a buy one, get one free offer for Oshizushi (their spelling). We chose the Crab and Tuna Oshi and both were excellent. Pressed, seared and with the house Aburi sauce, this was a rich and memorable version of typical Oshi sushi. We did not miss the dead fish at all.
Finally, we ordered a vegan sushi combo plate which came with California Roll. Since most places serve CR with imitation crab, we thought that imitation imitation crab was just a small step further. I told the chefs that Tojo would be proud but I don't think they understood me. I believe that if you are concerned about authenticity then this is the closest we come in the vegan world to real sushi!
The other part of the combo was the Nigiri. More salmon, tuna but with baby corn and Inari as well. The rice was perfect in everything we ate at Vegan Shoku and I think we all know how important that is in sushi culture.
The menu here is long and tempting. We will be back to try their ramen for sure as well as a few other menu gems and maybe some cheesecake! Our servers were enthusiastic and friendly and made us feel welcome. This is not just a restaurant for vegans but maybe a bit of a gateway drug for the vegan curious. Don't miss it!
Food 5 out of 5
Vegan Options 5 out of 5
Comfort 4 out of 5Service 5 out of 5
Value 5 out of 5
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