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Tiger Sushi: a Breath of Fresh Air

*** out of 4 stars

By Tiffiny Carlson

Tiger Sushi, the sole sushi restaurant at the Mall of America, is a breath of fresh air in this notoriously stale, culinary environment (the chili dog stand and the confusing “California cuisine” restaurant not withstanding). A relative newcomer (debuted in 2003), Tiger Sushi is located in the circular, glass structure on the 2^nd floor (formally the KSTP store) and provides the best dining view in the mall – the people. Nearly every table in this cozy, brightly orange and green colored eatery offers entertaining views of passing-by-shoppers. The wall-skimming waterfall at the entrance also creates a welcoming, peaceful ambience to incoming, frazzled customers (me included).

Tiger Sushi puts an inventive twist on the usual sushi fare (and is overall much cheaper too). Their popular “Tiger Balls” – zesty, wasabi and salmon filled rice balls -- make sushi-eating fun for even the youngest customer. All of their sushi rolls come with a unique wasabi-chili-lime sauce, pickled ginger, and a kicked-up soy sauce that gives the food an almost Latino flare. Another fun roll is their “Flying Tiger Stick” – a combination of shrimp tempura, smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado and fish roe. The menu also features your basic Japanese dishes such as tempura, satays, edamame, and miso soup.

A great way to fully-enjoy Tiger Sushi’s ambience is a seat at the bar (low enough for even wheelchair-users to partake). Their sushi chefs were more than friendly, but on a busy Saturday afternoon they were understandably busier than Martha Stewart on crack (it took up to a ½ hour for us to get our rolls). But once finished, we were delighted by the beautiful twists on the decorations of our rolls; ½ inch bean sprouts were artfully tucked into them, giving them an almost too-good-to-eat “hey, what’s growing in our food?!” vibe. But ultimately we ate them; because they were just that good.

Bonus: Don't forget to order a pot of their tasty tea--it'll have you asking just how they made it so good!

Tiger Sushi

Mall of America

W224

Bloomington, MN

(952) 876-9410