Moshi Moshi Maybe Maybe Opens Opens Monday Monday

Ballard Gossip Girl Exclusive!

The hard working crew at Moshi Moshi is getting ready to open to the public on February 2nd once their finishing touches are complete. They let us in to preview the space and to dish about the exciting new restaurant and bar. It sounds like it will be traditional, A-List and is poised to set the new standard in excellence in food, service and drinks.

Sakura!
First things first. As you can see in the picture at left, the decorating highlight of the space is an enormous steel LED Sakura. It's the only one in the U.S. that owner Kevin Erickson knows about and it's here in Ballard. Covered with 8,000 LED lights, these cherry trees are popular outside of restaurants in Japan. Definitely the focal point of the joint, it's going to be awesome when it's lit up. We eat with our eyes and without tasting one piece of fish, we're sold.

Sushi!
We spoke with sushi chef Kotaro Kumita about the Moshi Moshi menu. He's focusing on wild and even live fish which will be flown in daily direct from the Tokoyo Kitchen Market. Some of you may recognize Kotaro Kumita from Shun and Shiro's in Belltown where he trained with the master. Kumita's menu will focus on traditional Japanese sushi. That means all you cream cheese lovin' SoCal nouveau sushi jackasses will have to learn what fantastic sushi is all about. Foodies will recognize executive chef Dan Miller from Cascadia and Wasabi. Talent abounds.

Drinks!
We were also so very excited to learn that while Moshi Moshi will have the finest sushi around in a nod to Ballard's working class, they'll offer $2 PBR all day long. Hot shot bartender Eric Carlson (from San Francisco's Redwood Room at the Clift Hotel and Umami) will be pouring drinks. What a treat! We can't wait to take advantage of TWO happy hours at the sushi bar.

Parking!
Are you f'ing kidding us? Seriously, there is a lack of parking in Ballard, but Moshi Moshi's building (the oft jived Blandmark) has over 100 parking spaces! Best of all, it's $1 per hour. Holy Calamari, it's like the restaurant trifecta of perfection has finally arrived. Sushi, Drinks and Parking.


Start counting the days, kids. Awesome drinks and sushi are right around the corner.

Actually, We're Getting Two New Sushi Places

We found out last night that the high end Sushi joint we've been talking about for a while is now scheduled to open in November, but it's not the one that's being opened up in the DiVino spot! The building that will house hot young Upper Queen Anne restaurateur's latest venture is just down the street, the one under construction next to Cugini. (Sorry Ballardite, you don't have it right and neither do you MyBallard....I'll let you know who it is as soon as I get the okay to go public with names.)

The BGG also found out about Shiku yesterday but decided not to plug them since we are particularly fond of the hot young QA chef and his current joint. Really, if we can be picky, and I think we can, we'd rather not publicize his competitors. So, while we have been starved for sushi in this hood for a while, it looks like we're going to see some serious competition.

Sushi in September

Confidential whispers have confirmed that the hot new sushi joint going in on Ballard Ave is scheduled to be opening in September. We're ready now since it already feels like fall. We know who is opening it, the proposed name and more salacious details but we're not telling....yet.