Tiger Sushi

We're going to say that this place started out with 5 stars:
- they get to keep 1 for good food (this surprised me, I wasn't expecting anything other than dry sushi and uber sticky rice from a joint in the mall)
- they get another star because our waiter, Ryan, was a pretty nice guy to us
- then we take away three stars for Ryan, the hostess (red haired chick who had to leave early to go put eyelashes on), and the manager

Apparently my boyfriend and I had a lull in our conversation because I started paying attention to what was going on in the restaurant. I noticed an interaction between the hostess and a girl who I later found out was named Taylor. It seems like Taylor asked her where she was going or why she was taking a break or something like that, it's not really that important. Anyway, Ms. Hostess turns around and says to Ryan, "Did you like my response to her? That I had to go put my eyelashes on. (hahaha) Fuck her." First, your customers shouldn't be listening to you cuss out a fellow coworker. Second, fuck her because you had to put EYELASHES on?! Oh wow, priorities people.

I kept observing and noticed that this Taylor chick was literally running around doing everything (waiting on tables, cleaning up, saying goodbye to customers, refilling water, whatever) while Ryan was walking from one side to the other gabbing with whom I later found out was the GM. Only because of his inattentive gossip sesh did I end up calling Taylor over to find out why she was the restaurant version of Cinderella.

I have never in my life had a restaurant experience ruined because of the interactions between the STAFF! How absurd is that? Paying (too much) money for mall sushi and then watching the three evil stepsisters in action pissed me off so much that had I not been on a mini vacation from Chicago, I would probably have wasted my time making a stink that day, but I didn't really want to sour my mood. The fact that Taylor was able to very cheerfully say goodbye to everyone was kind of amazing, especially considering that our own waiter didn't say thank you or goodbye to us.

Despite the surprisingly good sushi, I would never support this establishment should I ever visit the Mall of America again. There is that saying that a person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person - I think this totally applies here and I wouldn't want to help pay the salaries of or compensate rude people with tips. I am concerned that given the nastiness of this group, this girl that I thought was being treated ridiculously will get singled out, in which case, I hope there are some pro-bono lawyers in the lurch. What I hope will happen is that the GM will open up her eyes to how her management of the employees is being viewed by customers.

It was delicious. It's a small, round, snug as a bug in a rug dead smack in the middle of the largest mall in America, but it wasn't too noisy or too rustle bustle. Although my waitress did take a while to bring me my check, it's justified because the place is full pretty much the entire time it's open. Expensive, yes. Duh, the location. But worth it. So worth it. Get the Miso Soup, it's the bet I've ever had and I've had a lot of Miso Soup.

Goodness!!! I rarely give 5 stars, but this place has the best sushi ever. I moved to Boston couple years ago and now I still crave for their food. If I ever have the chance to go back to MN, this would be the first stop once I get off the plane! Although I have to admit the price is high, I never regretted spending money here because it's just so good.