Maki Sushi - Park Ridge

my boyfriend and i came here, excited at having found a new sushi bar.. only to be very disappointed.

food = overpriced for the simplicity and lack of creativity. the reason sushi can be so pricey is because it is a form of edible art. not only were the maki rolls too simple and americanized, they were only accompanied by one plastic piece of garnish: the green thing that you can find separating rolls from ginger + wasabi in the packs you buy at the grocery store.

i believe the owners were attempting to provide an intimate atmosphere by having only a few dim lights.. but this is ruined by 1) a TOO dark atmosphere and 2) a lack of privacy as the tables are too close and the music does not promote a sophisticated meal. The place wasn't THAT crowded when we were there, but somehow i felt as if i could listen in on everyone's conversations if i wanted to..

as far as service.. well, we decided to only order 2 rolls first: a volcano and a maam's special.. both of which came about 20 minutes later.. volcano is one of my favorite rolls, but i was quite disappointed with the volcano roll here. as i picked it up, not only was it fairly slippery, oil was dripping off of it (they deep-fry theirs)! slightly unsatisfied w' the quality of our choices, we ended up ordering 2 more rolls. this time we ordered a salmon skin roll and a regular salmon roll. now tell me why it took them longer to make 2 simple, uncooked rolls than the 2 first rolls, one of which was deep fried???

bottom line, i left a $0.30 tip for a $44.70 meal. i believe i left too much.