Life at o ya after being named No. 1 among 10 of the best new restaurants in the country

It's "a little bit busy," o ya chef-owner Tim Cushman says dryly: The phone rang every 10 to 20 seconds yesterday. "We can't keep up with the calls. I think it’s a great thing for the city -- it's fun recognition."

Tim and Nancy Cushman.
(Erik Jacobs for The New York Times)

When The New York Times first mentioned the restaurant a few weeks back, the story didn't explain that the food was based on Japanese cuisine. It did, however, show a picture of o ya's fantastic twist on clam chowder, which involves tempura bits and a drizzle of pork fat. "We had quite a few people come in thinking we were a clam shack," Cushman says.

The restaurant celebrated its one-year anniversary on Tuesday, so this was both an anniversary gift and a confirmation of what they're doing. "We didn’t do any marketing or anything because we didn’t have the money," Cushman says. "We gradually grew the business. I’m sure there will be things that will come out of this that we don’t know." The Cushmans have been in touch with the couple who owns the No. 2 restaurant, Ubuntu, in Napa, Calif. They've promised to visit one another's restaurants. Someday. "Right now we can’t even think of it," Cushman says. "We have to gear up for the onslaught."

Until the final results were announced yesterday -- followed by the popping of several bottles of Champagne at the restaurant -- Cushman and his wife, Nancy, o ya's sake sommelier and co-owner, had no idea what the outcome would be. "We were hanging there just like everybody," he says. "Our guts were killing us. It's incredibly exciting. We have the same staff we had when we started a year ago, and they feel so proud. Hard work can pay off."