BY KYLE PRATT
Executive Editor
Saint Rose is taking a step toward higher quality with its new food options.
The new grub from a New Jersey vendor lines the shelves of one of the coolers in the Camelot Room in the Events and Athletic Center. Students, staff, and faculty can choose from a variety of prepackaged sandwiches, including chicken salad on ciabatta, pastrami on rye, and honey turkey on brioche. Also available are different kinds of salads and crab, salmon, and spicy tuna sushi.
Retail Director for Aramark Jon Petrie was able to sample the fancy snacks at York Street in Englewood well before the hit the Saint Rose shelves in June.
“I was blown away by the quality,” Petrie said, “It’s a pretty phenomenal facility.”
Petrie, whose favorite new sandwich is the mixed Italian on multigrain bread, “stumbled upon” the New Jersey company after the school’s former vendor dropped the Hale & Hearty soup line. York Street carries the soup, and Petrie decided to check out its other products, and eventually implement them at Saint Rose.
York Street products can also be found in the Lally School of Education on Madison Avenue and in Brubacher Hall on State Street.
Petrie’s decision to switch vendors was infl uenced by the York Street products’ higher quality and lack of preservatives, he said.
The sandwiches have a three day shelf life, while the sushi is removed after two, Petrie said.
The higher quality of the products lead to a higher cost and shorter shelf life, potentially leading to more waste, which Petrie is trying to control through trial and error, he said.
The lack of business during the summer months meant more food was being thrown away. Since classes began, interest has increased, and the college quadrupled its sushi order.
The new products are aimed at students who don’t want to wait in line. Junior Theodore Stabile, who went for the sushi, is one of these students.
Stabile called the sushi “critically OK,” but appreciates the $6.29 price point.
“The taste was expectancy standard,” Stabile said, “It was, all things considered, pretty alright.
Stabile’s feelings were echoed by Sophomore Leanne Demartino.
“There wasn’t anything too special about it,” Demartino said, “But it wasn’t bad.”
She compared the Yorkstreet rolls to the pre-made sushi she buys at a supermarket off campus, saying it is cheaper, but of a similar quality.
Stabile typically gets his sushi from Ruby Asian Bistro on Madison Avenue, where a spicy tuna roll costs $5.
Across the street from Ruby, Asian Place sells a spicy tuna roll for $4.95.
As for the other York Street products, Demartino has yet to venture out.
“I would eventually like to try some,” she said, “But for now I will stick with my sushi and grilled chicken sandwiches.”
