From the Clash T-shirt on the wall to the surf videos playing on the television in the corner, it's obvious that the Fish Joint is not your average sushi bar. "I'm thinking of throwing in some old Jackie Chan flicks, just to throw in something goofball," said chef and co-owner Davin Waite. "It's always a funny thing to have going on behind a sushi bar."

Funny things are going on in the menu as well. The Ginger house roll, for example, is not named after the spice, but Ginger as in "Ginger and Mary Anne" from "Gilligan's Island."

Waite, 25, was recruited to run the Oceanside restaurant by the owner of a cafe where he hung out after surfing. He hired his younger brother, Loren, to head the kitchen and his wife, Kim, as a waitress. He decorated the restaurant himself and chose a surfboard as a dominant art piece.

While the Fish Joint might seem like a lark on the surface, it is attracting crowds any sushi bar would envy, and it's not the surf videos that are drawing them in.

"I've been making sushi about eight years," Waite said. "Maybe more. I just started making sushi right out of high school."

Waite moved to Santa Barbara and worked there for a couple of years after high school, but had worked for the past six years at Cafe Japengo in La Jolla.

"People say it's the best sushi bar in San Diego, or at least the busiest," Waite said.

Waite was happy with his job and had no plans to leave. But when Hill Street Cafe owner Daniel Callaway mentioned that he was interested in opening a sushi bar at a vacant spot across from his restaurant, Waite and his brother offered to help.

"We were thinking of just consulting, but that turned into getting a chunk of the restaurant," said Waite, who became a minority owner in the venture.

The restaurant opened in June and offers a selection of traditional sushi and sashimi, exotic house sushi rolls, seafood salads, teriyaki plates and entrees that include barbecued halibut or salmon, broiled mahi mahi, basil orange chicken, shredded chicken, tofu steak and portobello mushroom steak.

Sushi and sashimi are priced from $4.50 to $10 for two pieces and include tuna, albacore, salmon, yellowtail, snapper, halibut, shrimp, octopus and eel. For the more daring, the sushi menu also includes live sweet shrimp for $7.50.

Rolls begin at $3.50 for a California roll and top out at $10 for rainbow and caterpillar rolls.

And then the menu gets interesting, in content and name.

While some sushi bars offer vegetarian rolls, the Fish Joint goes one step further with vegan rolls: Garden rolls are made with carrot, tomato and avocado, and green-leaf rolls are organic field greens, avocado, cucumber, sprouts, tomato and fresh ginger.

Then there is the vegan Gilligan roll ---- cucumber, sunflower sprouts and avocado, fresh tomato and miso sauce ---- and the Professor, made with grilled zucchini, sun-dried tomato, avocado, onions and soy paper.

Why name menu items after "Gilligan's Island" characters?

"It puts us in a good mood," Waite said. "Cheesiness sells in Southern California. We don't like to admit it, but we're definitely a cheesy bunch of people."

House rolls include the Skipper, the Ginger and the Mary Anne for $12 each. There's no Mr. Howell ---- the menu claims it's just too expensive ---- and a stern warning against the Mrs. Howell: "You are sick if this appeals to you!"

The Mango Madness roll, made with mango salsa, yellowtail, salmon, snow crab and avocado, was inspired by a creation from Cafe Japengo, Waite said.

"Mango turned out to be a popular thing," he said. "Traditional chefs would look at that and not take it seriously as sushi, but nowhere do we say it's sushi. It's just good food."

The Billy Watson ---- shrimp tempura, spicy crab, ahi, avocado and jalapeno ---- is named after a local artist and blues musician who customized the roll. Waite said all diners can order a custom roll of their own design.

Old-timers will appreciate the Hill Street Roll (seared albacore, avocado, spicy tuna and citrus soy vinaigrette) in honor of the former name of Coast Highway. The OU Miracle roll ---- grilled jalapeno, sun-dried tomato, cream cheese, smoked salmon and avocado ----- is named after the construction company whose name is stamped on Oceanside's sidewalks.

"It's kind of like a little present for those who are paying attention," Waite said.

The atmosphere at the Fish Joint can be a bit raucous, especially during happy hours, but people have the option of being served next door for a quieter evening.

"We try to push it as far as we can without upsetting any of the customers," Waite said about the noise level. "But it's definitely a loud restaurant. If people want a quieter meal, we invite them over to the Hill Street Cafe. We like people to first pick their environment and then the menu."

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