# If your college dining hall offered sushi, would you eat it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601 "2006-03-08T22:51:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/1 "2006-03-08T22:51:21Z")
[Article in the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/07/AR2006030700288.html) (may require registration). The gist is that some college dining halls are expanding their food offerings, in some cases including sushi. If your college dining hall had offered sushi when you were there, would you have eaten it? Or, for those in college, if your dining hall offered sushi, would you eat it? I love sushi, but I’m not sure I would have. I got sick from enough cooked food that I got from our college dining hall, so I’d have been quite wary of sushi if they had offered it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/2 "2006-03-08T22:56:05Z")
\*Sushi \*as in pickled rice wrapped around vegetables and cooked shrimp or fish? Absolutely. _Sashimi_, as in raw fish or seafood? Nuh-uh, no way. I don’t trust the safety of a dining hall for such a perishable food. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/3 "2006-03-08T22:56:53Z")
I never lived in a college when I was at uni, but I did occasionally eat meals at some of them. I’d certainly have eaten sushi if it had been on offer. It would have been an improvement on the stodgy meals that were served. ---
**Author:** ![Tamryne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tamryne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamryne)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/4 "2006-03-08T22:59:02Z")
My college has a sushi place on campus in the student center that offers rolls and sashimi. Needless to say, I indulge in items such as smoked salmon and shrimp rolls, but leave the sashimi alone. The dining hall doesn’t offer sushi, thank god. I don’t trust them to have fresh sushi-grade fish, and I really don’t want to eat raw fish that other people have touched/messed with/sat out there for hours on end. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/5 "2006-03-08T23:07:00Z")
Not at my original (80s era) college cafeteria. Although their approach to most things was to cook them into complete submission, so it would probably not have been actually _dangerous_. Nowadays, I might try a California roll or something relatively sturdy like that. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/6 "2006-03-08T23:09:34Z")
\*\*If your college dining hall offered sushi, would you eat it? \*\* With someone else’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/7 "2006-03-08T23:12:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > \*Sushi \*as in pickled rice wrapped around vegetables and cooked shrimp or fish? Absolutely. _Sashimi_, as in raw fish or seafood? Nuh-uh, no way. I don’t trust the safety of a dining hall for such a perishable food. Someone could correct me, but I think you have your terminology a bit mixed up. Sushi is rice with fish (or whatever). Sashimi is just pieces of fish without rice. Sushi doesn’t necessarially mean raw fish, or lack thereof. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/8 "2006-03-08T23:46:32Z")
My college _did_ offer sushi, and I happily ate it. It happened about once per month, and they brought in outside chefs. IIRC, there were no raw fish options; it was usually cucumber rolls, california rolls, and cooked shrimp nigiri. The lines were atrocious, and you were limited to 6 pieces, so it wasn’t the kind of thing to do if you were in a hurry. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/9 "2006-03-08T23:46:45Z")
They may not make it themseleves. I have eaten sushi at two workplace cafeterias and a hospital cafeteria. It was fine but it was made at a place that specializes in outsourced sushi. That is pretty common in the Boston area and we have prepackaged sushi in many supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/10 "2006-03-08T23:59:40Z")
I used to work at one of my college’s dining halls. I didn’t eat the meat (or the eggs), and I wouldn’t eat the sushi. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/11 "2006-03-09T00:18:45Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > They may not make it themseleves. I have eaten sushi at two workplace cafeterias and a hospital cafeteria. It was fine but it was made at a place that specializes in outsourced sushi. That is pretty common in the Boston area and we have prepackaged sushi in many supermarkets. Outsourced sushi is fine in my mind as likely the producers can be counted on to handle the food properly. What scares me is what happens to it after it is in your cafeteria. How close attention will the cafeteria pay to tossing sushi that has sat around too long versus hanging on to it for tomorrow or the next day’s meal? ---
**Author:** ![Doom\_Slinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Doom\_Slinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doom_Slinger)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/12 "2006-03-09T00:46:38Z")
My grad school’s cafe was recently cited by the city health department for, among other things, “[evidence of mice](http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/43d9e2d6e654f).” So, umm, no, I wouldn’t eat sushi, or anything else prepared on the premises (and they do have sushi chefs in house), with someone else’s mouth, stomach, intestines, _and_ colon. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/13 "2006-03-09T01:05:55Z")
I’m pretty sure mine offered sushi on occassion. The number one thing in a situation like this that will make you sick is sprouts- they are increadable germ harbors. So no, I’m not worried about the fish. I’m worried about the sprouts. That, and once I got a slice of pizza there that was topped with oreo cookies. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/14 "2006-03-09T01:21:25Z")
We have 2 eating places, our traditional dining hall and a smaller place that’s more like fast food. The latter occasionally offers prepackaged sushi. However, I don’t think it’s well refrigerated and it’s priced at eight dollars for six pieces, which aren’t very good (I don’t eat sushi, but I have friends who do.) Personally, I wish they’d branch out into other areas if they’re going to expand the types of food they offer. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/15 "2006-03-09T01:26:13Z")
The cooks at my college dining hall really had their stuff together and could whip up some pretty good meals. For budget reasons, the normal daily fare was ordinary, if tasty, but for Sunday brunch they’d cut loose with some really good food. On those days, I’d happily and fearlessly partake of raw fish. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/16 "2006-03-09T01:38:14Z")
I’m not sure a dining establishment at UK could serve sushi unless they could make it from chicken and serve it in strip form. Seriously, the closest we get to “international” food is the burrito place in the food court, which is so authentic that it’s named “Burritos Azul Grande.” I keep hoping someone from the Hispanic Studies department will tell them that’s not grammatically correct. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/17 "2006-03-09T01:44:05Z")
> [@monica](#): > > The latter occasionally offers prepackaged sushi. However, I don’t think it’s well refrigerated and it’s priced at eight dollars for six pieces, which aren’t very good (I don’t eat sushi, but I have friends who do.) :eek: :eek: :eek: EIGHT DOLLARS FOR SIX PIECES??! I can get really good sushi at a sushi restaurant in my town for much less than that! ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/18 "2006-03-09T01:46:16Z")
Heck yeah! My alma mater’s dining hall system was fantastic (with a few notable exceptions) and I hear it’s even better now! I haven’t eaten in their dining halls for about a decade now, but I’d eat there in a flash. I understand the Ivy Room (or is it Oakenshields?) now serves sushi and has an actual sushi chef, not just some shlub slapping rice & fish together. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/19 "2006-03-09T01:46:58Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > :eek: :eek: :eek: > > EIGHT DOLLARS FOR SIX PIECES??! > > I can get really good sushi at a sushi restaurant in my town for much less than that! I know. Ridiculous, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601/20 "2006-03-09T01:50:52Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > :eek: :eek: :eek: > > EIGHT DOLLARS FOR SIX PIECES??! > > I can get really good sushi at a sushi restaurant in my town for much less than that! A sushi roll here is usually about $1.50, although prices drop quite a bit after about 5.00pm when there are lots of 3 for the price of 2 specials etc. How big are the pieces? A roll here is about 10cm long and 4cm in diameter (roughly guessing - I don’t have one in front of me, although all this talk is suggesting to me that I should go get some for lunch). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-college-dining-hall-offered-sushi-would-you-eat-it/347601.md?page=2)