O'Shan... my bad.

HEATHENS!!! The "O" in O'Shaun clearly indicates that the family is from Hawaii (as does their font choice). The Mom/Pop/Son trio I saw working out front were all Japanese. These are all VERY good signs that we'll have some good sushi less than a block from my house.

Walked by Oshan today and peeked inside. They have since removed the brown paper on the window and let me tell you, it is a HUGE transformation from the old Austin Cantina. The place looks awesome, especially a nicely done rice paper wall backlit with blue lights. I hope the food is as good as the remodel, I can't wait...one order Toro please =]....

Yay for sushi! I hope it's similar to Musashi's in Wallingford. We need good quality, cheap sushi to lead the sushi revolution. I stopped in yesterday and it looks like they will be open in another week or so.

I knocked on the door today. The owner seemed very nice. I was told the tentative opening date is next Tuesday the 17th. I counted nine tables and about 12 stools at the counter. The place looked good inside. If the food and service are up to par this place will make a killing! I was told the prices would be better than at other joints on Ballard Ave. I hope so.

Why is everyone bashing on the name and font, who cares as long as the food is good. Lets see all of you come up with a awesome name that will please everyone. If you don't want sushi then why don't you people open up your own restaurants and stop complaining that you want something else. I also heard that the owners of oshan are the original owners of bento sushi and that place was good.

It seems Ballard restaurants with Papyrus signs have been prominently featured on the Papyrus Fail blog. http://papyrusfail.blogspot.com/

Long and narrow can work well at a sushi place. If they have sushi-bar only seating, I will cream myself.

"o-shan" means "ocean" in Japanese.

Word! on the overused font comment. In graphic design school, this was one of the emphased tips - Papyrus is so overused! Not so bad if you alter it, combine it with others, etc.

A note about long, narrow spaced restaurants...ever been to Thai Tom in the U? People line up to get in there. The food is stellar, the prices as well and I actually like the intimate environment. You can see the cooking, which is fun and they are always nice there as well.

I actually liked the layout of the Cantina and never once thought it was too long, narrow, only lit on one side, etc.

All comes down to personal preference in the end I suppose!

Good luck to the new sushi place. May they prosper well on their new venture!

Blessings,
Amy

@ 30

AJ, seriously?

Will I be able to get an Irish Car Bomb with my spicy tuna hand roll?

I a bookman oldstyle fan myself

ball ar dite

"oops, YOU did it again" again, welcome aboard. it's a great blog.

I'd rather a good pho joint than another sushi place personally...but I will give this place a shot.

I did see Helvetica AJ. I enjoyed it very much!
Just a random tidbit: I love small caps!
Anyone else?

ball ar dite - take it easy trigger. your tone is unwelcome. yeah, i said it.

romaji - doy, of course.
i was reading it as an apostrophe, not as a dash.
trickery.
and umi is sea, not ocean, as i'd thought.
kim - thank you for pointing me towards freedict - likey mucho.

kim-

You validate my post then chide me for being a first-time commenter? You make about as much sense as "Irish sushi". Do you have a point or do you just use this site as your whipping post? I can't wait to read more of your drivel.

I know I'm late to this thread, but O'Shan, if you don't pronounce it so hard, sounds out "ocean".

And, for you fellow Fonts-o-philes. The documentary, "Helvetica" (free instant viewing on Netflix), is quite enjoyable. Interviews with the original font-designers and snippy remarks like "that font is ridiculous...look at the "p, d, and b's". Ahh...

When does the new Greek Place open in the old clock shop
...thats what I'm waiting for!!!!

That is a very tough layout. Both Dandelion and Austin Cantina suffered from it: one person faces the wall, very narrow, no real view. Dandelion had amazing food and people were willing to put up with the space. Austin Cantina had good food (at better prices) but the layout of the place was insurmountable. I hope this new sushi joint gets it right. Probably heavy on the bar, light on the peripheral seating like Ocho.

work-ethic: you are not alone my friend. The new sushi joint has fallen prey to the allure of the "system font."

that's been a pretty tough location. I guess Dandelion did ok, but it was just too tiny for lazy seating.

I hope it's a quick, inexpensive place. I used to work next door to Musashi's and loved the place.

toudios--

enkai, kaiyou, unabara, taikai, o-shan, en'you are references at freedict.com. ball ar dite is off slightly. newby.....

i thought that umi is ocean in japanese.

@ 11 and @ 14. Yes. that font is so played out.

ball ar dite, new to the site eh? you tone eludes that you are. welcome aboard and good luck!

O'shan means Ocean in Japanese. You ignorant Scandinavians are ridiculous the way you bash perfectly legitimate businesses because of the chosen name. Gain a little perspective.

@ 6 - i actually spoke with the owner of o'shan and it's the same family who originally opened Bento Sushi. it sounds like it's going to be more quick, inexpensive sushi which i see as very welcome...

Hoping that we can get a kaiten-style sushi restaurant in Ballard soon. The closest are Blue C (overpriced) and Sushiland (questionable freshness).

24th Ave is interesting, the way it's growing. (I say that knowing full well that O'Shan is moving into an old spot.) I'd love to see more restaraunts, cafes and bars start lining up on 24th....Maybe provide an option to Ballard Ave. Nothing Kings'y...I'm talking sidewalk seating...laidback.

I hope that it's a down-to-earth sushi joint a la Musashi's in Wallingford rather than the fancy-schmancy overpriced grub on Ballard Ave. You know, a step or two above Sam's, but without having to shell out $10 for a spider roll.

omg! I live with a font freak and I didn't realize that there were more of you!!

I Agree. Ballard needs a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern place.

workethic: I love fonts! So I totally appreciate your observation. I think that new restaurant "Green Go Food" which was blogged about on Feb. 9th here uses papyrus as well. I don't think it's a particularly strong, storefront kind of font but I'm definitely not a graphic design nerd, so my expertise is quite limited.

Sushi and Pizza and Burgers. Won't somebody open up a good Middle Eastern place round here.... Impossible to find some good falafel round the area.

jules--

exactly. irish sushi????? nasty unless you're using corned beef. top o' the morning to ya!

At the risk of sounding like a graphic design nerd, but is anyone else COMPLETELY sick of that font?!

http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&a...

Pizza/Burger/Sushi is there some unknown zoning law that is only allowing people to open specific restraunts? And Hamburger Harry's name and overpriced food are lame

Wow, maybe next the sidewallk will be "walkable" to get there!

Wino, it will save us money if we just decide without eating there, won't it? Don't bog us down with your details. ; )

Well I am excited about them opening. Lets wait on see what they have on their menu and how it tastes before we decide.

If they go for the quick-&-cheap market, they might do all right. Moshi Moshi and Shiku are both pretty good, pretty fancy, and pretty pricey. If O'Shan is more like Bento Sushi, at least that's a different niche.

hamburger harry's gets my vote for the lamest name ... and lamest neon sign, but that's another topic for another day.

Being close to wingmaster allows me to experiment with the combination of sushi and wings.

Poll Question:

Between O'Shan Sushi and Hamburger Harry's, which restaurant has the "lamest" name?

it sounds like St. Patricks Day sushi.

it is a really lame name.....

I sincerely hope that their sushi turns out to be so phenomenally good that it just doesn't matter that they seem to have chosen one of the lamest names for a sushi joint that I've ever heard.