Campus Caf
Lansdowne campus
Sushi Combo
$8.95
Presentation and service
Jason: Sushi from the cafeteria. This seems safe… I hope. As a rule, I avoid sushi that has been sitting in a cooler for an undisclosed amount of time, but we have a job to do, and it actually looks pretty decent. Plus, you get a fair amount of sushi in a pack.
Tyler: Honestly, the safety thing is probably all cool, since there isn’t any actual raw fish in it, but I couldn’t open the wasabi packet and I love wasabi. Bad mark for the caf there; I could’ve really used some wasabi, too.
Taste
J: The best way I can describe it is “soggy.” The rice was just a gelatinous paste that coated flavourless fake crab, or in a ball under a slab of poor smoked salmon. It was too cold: sushi is supposed to be room temperature, when it’s cold it loses all its flavour.
T: It’s pretty flavourless, and the texture is brutal. The so-called “spicy” California roll was a disappointment, especially after the no-wasabi incident. I was hoping for a bit of a burn, or at least flavour. I guess people buy it every day, though.
Fujiya Sushi
Sushi Combo and California Roll
$11.65
Presentation and service
J: Everyone on staff is super nice, and you get tons of selection. The fact that you get fresh sushi for half the price is just the bee’s knees. That’s right: the bee’s knees.
T: Well, it’s basically a food market, but instead of being full of Triscuits and Spam, it’s full of delicious, fresh food. Don’t let the look of the place throw you: it’s a gem. And there are tons of non-fish items for those of us who don’t eat sushi. Like my grumpy 94-year-old great-uncle Mort.
Taste
J: It tastes real, like it was made the same day. Better than that, it tastes great. Really top-notch sushi. It’s of the same quality as any great sushi place in town and for super cheap, so you can’t beat that. The California rolls weren’t bland this time; whoever invented fake crab was a genius.
T: More like made the same hour. One of the best things about Fujiya sushi was that it wasn’t super cold, even though it contained actual raw fish. That raw fish was awesome, too, it had real flavour, and you could tell the difference between fish and rice.
And the winner is… Fujiya
Verdict: Fujiya has amazing quality for a low price. We had twice as much sushi for only three bucks more. And it was great sushi, too. No contest; it’s kind of like comparing apples and crapples.