The internet has introduced us to some of the century’s most unexpected food innovations. We have social media to thank for the wave of rainbow bagels in the 2010s and for the bevy of round, filled croissants that arrived in 2022.

The innovation behind viral dishes has produced some excellent ideas, such as cozy cups of hot chocolate with freshly torched meringue on top, but not every internet-famous idea is a great one: Do we really need to sandwich a burger patty between two stacks of ramen noodles?

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Trending food tends to bring long lines with it, and when I learned about the latest viral bite, a “push pop” sushi roll meant to be eaten on the go and packaged in a strange but satisfying tube, I wondered if it would actually be worth waiting an hour — or — to try. I’ll give anything a go once, so I sampled social media’s new favorite sushi to find out if it merits the hype.

What you need to know about the viral sushi push pop

If you’re familiar with the classic push pop candy, which lets you gradually push a lollipop out of a tube, you know how satisfying this simple process is. The sushi push pop employs a similar packaging system: a pre-sliced roll of sushi is placed inside a cardboard tube.

By using a smaller plastic tube (conveniently filled with soy sauce) to push on one end of the roll, you can gradually eat pieces of sushi as they emerge from the top of the cardboard container. This format is, ostensibly, intended to make it easier to eat sushi on the go. For added convenience, you can use the soy sauce tube to drizzle seasoning over the sushi.

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The restaurant behind this viral sensation is Suka Sushi, a counter-service spot in Kips Bay, New York City. According to Suka’s website, a patent for its unique sushi packaging is pending. At the hot spot, you’ll find a small selection of seven rolls, ranging from the California — with kani, avocado, and cucumber inside, plus a masago coating on the exterior — to Spicy Tuna, featuring tuna, avocado, cucumber, and spicy mayo.

Is it worth it?

If you want to try this viral dish, be prepared for the possibility of a long line. I went to Suka twice: first on a Saturday evening around 7:30 p.m. and later on a Thursday at 11:45 a.m., shortly after the restaurant opened. During my first attempt to snag a sushi push pop, I was met with a long line that stretched two blocks and would have required waiting in the cold New York City air for at least thirty minutes. I decided to return at a later date.

My second trip to Suka was successful. At lunchtime on a weekday, I didn’t have to wait in line at all and was immediately able to snag my roll of choice: the Alaska roll with salmon, avocado, cucumber, and sesame seeds. Even though the restaurant had only been open for 15 minutes, it was already sold out of the spicy tuna roll, and I was told I could buy only one roll per visit, so I wasn’t able to try any other offerings.

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Each roll includes 10 pieces, priced from $15 to $17. Compared with my neighborhood sushi spot, where I can get a salmon, cucumber, and avocado roll for $6, that’s a steep markup. However, each piece of sushi from Suka is big, and the hot spot’s rolls are slightly wider in diameter than the thinner ones I get at most casual sushi joints.

What you’re really paying for at Suka is the packaging. The rolls come in sturdy cardboard tubes, with the restaurant’s logo emblazoned on the side. A thin cylinder of soy sauce is conveniently attached to the packaging, and you can pour it into the larger cardboard tube to season the sushi without making a mess.

This is also what you’ll use to push the sushi up; simply insert the soy sauce stick through a small hole in the bottom of the cardboard vessel and use it to press a plastic circle beneath the roll. As each piece pops up over the top edge of the tube, you can eat it directly from the container without utensils.

Suka hopes this format will be convenient for eating on the go, and honestly, it is. It’s very easy to use and well constructed, and because the sushi is pre-sliced, it’s easy to eat just one piece at a time as it emerges from the tube. The only fault I found with the configuration is that the individual pieces of sushi are a little too large to eat whole without looking slightly ridiculous. So don’t come here on a first date.

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When it comes to the quality of the sushi itself, it’s nothing to write home about — but it’s also not bad. Imagine the neighborhood sushi spot you get takeout from, and this probably comes quite close. The rolls are pre-made, so they’re ready to go when you order them, and the fish tastes surprisingly fresh, even if it may have been prepared a few hours earlier.

Is it worth traveling to Kips Bay and standing in line for this sushi? No, it’s not. Even if these rolls were easily accessible, there’s rarely—if ever—an occasion when I need the convenience of a sushi push pop so badly that I’d want to skip chopsticks, which are the best utensils you could ask for.

The novelty alone isn’t enough to merit going out of your way for these rolls; after all, their flavor is pretty unremarkable. But if you’re in the area at lunchtime and need something to eat on the subway, trying one isn’t a terrible idea.