"Isn't that a far, long trip for the fish?"

I can't even begin to explain my initial skepticism about eating sushi here in central Pennsylvania.

Getting California rolls at Panda Express is one thing, but eating full-out raw fish is quite another. Being a native Jersey girl circa 40 minutes from the shore, I always felt confident that my fish selections were fresh and direct from the Atlantic.

I brought this skepticism with me to Say Sushi, 310 S. Allen St. The restaurant was a little bit of a hike, being all the way past Schlow Library on Allen and removed from the main strip of stores closer to College Avenue and Beaver Avenue. The enormous pink neon sign, however, makes up for the location, and Say Sushi is hard to miss.

With a handful of sushi-lovin' friends, I stepped in and scoped the place out. It's on the smaller side, with the sushi bar in the back, and a dozen or so tables and chairs set up in the front. The light blue walls are adorned with small-framed Asian paintings, giving Say Sushi a sort of Oriental charm. Classical music played faintly in the background, which could have been turned up a few notches to add to the atmosphere and disguise any awkward silences.

There weren't a whole lot of people there at 8 on a Saturday night, but the people who were there, besides my crew, were all couples. Going on a date here isn't a bad idea -- splitting a pot of green tea and trying one another's Maki rolls seems, well, kind of cute.

Our friendly waitress distributed the menus to my group, and although they looked like pieces of computer paper covered in saran wrap, it was about four or five pages long, a considerably longer selection than I expected -- we all needed a few extra minutes to choose.

Living up to its name, there was, of course, a large variety of sushi selections, ranging from Philly rolls -- salmon and Philadelphia cream cheese -- to a tuna lovers' option with seven pieces of tuna. It was also nice that the menu included an alternative for non-sushi lovers, with seafood-free options like cucumber or garden rolls.

Now, I wouldn't consider myself a connoisseur, but I have had my fair share of first-rate sushi to make a good comparison as to whether it's quality or not. I ended up ordering the Alaskan roll, which has smoked salmon and avocado, and also spicy tuna rolls.

They came out served on a thick, wooden slate, the way sushi should be presented. Dipped in soy sauce and a pinch of wasabi, I wasn't altogether disappointed my meal choices at all, but it wasn't anything outstanding.

First of all, sushi should be appreciably cool, but I couldn't help noticing that my selections were room temperature. Also, my sushi looked fresh, but it wasn't the case for my friend who ordered the yellowtail rolls. Raw yellowtail is supposed to be white with a pink tinge, but it was gray with red spots. Although the waitress insisted that it was fine to eat, my friend acted cautiously and exchanged it for a California roll.

Say Sushi doesn't offer exclusively sushi, as their title may suggest, but also a variety of traditional Japanese and Korean dishes, which might be your better bet if you have high sushi expectations.

Pork Katsu, a Japanese dish that entails fried pork cutlets with basically barbecue sauce over top is one such dish. It's a dish that's not altogether difficult to mess up and, although my friend said she's had better, it wasn't bad.

Another friend ordered Yakisoba, which is basically the Japanese equivalent of Chinese lo mein. It was a sizeable portion considering it was an appetizer, and she said she really enjoyed it. Also, all dinner entrées come with a salad, miso soup and a bowl of white rice.

All in all, not the best sushi I've ever had, but if you're really craving it, Say Sushi is a decent pick.