Sushi burritos, other Mexican-Asian fusion dishes await at Riverbank’s newest eatery
If you really think about it, sushi and burritos have a lot in common.
Both are filled with rice and protein. Both have a thin wrapper. And both are beloved cultural cuisines. So why not combine the two to serve a sushi burrito? Well David Salazar, the new chef/owner of Yugo Sushi Bistro in Riverbank, has done just that, and more.
The new restaurant at the corner of Atchison and Sixth streets, across from Cardozo Middle School, is instantly recognizable from its large, 3-D coffee cup sign embedded on the front of its building — the remnants of a former life as a cafe. That cup is in the process of being transformed into a ramen bowl instead. The spot, which had recently been a series of Mexican restaurants, has been in a soft opening phase since mid-November.
On Monday it will launch its full lunch and dinner menu, offering daily specials and expanded sushi, sashimi, nigiri and fusion menu options. Salazar, a Manteca native who now lives in Modesto with his wife and three young children, has been a trained sushi chef for the last nine years.
He came into the field after looking for a career change from retail management about a decade ago and worked at a number of sushi restaurants in the valley. About four years ago he started to think about opening his own restaurant, and then two years ago the idea of a fusion place took hold thanks in part to his own family dynamics.
“I wanted to bring my Chicano background and my in-laws’ Asian family together and fuse them,” said Salazar, who is Mexican-American.
The family of his wife, Denyse Salazar, is Cambodian and you’ll find popular dishes from across Asia on the menu like chicken teriyaki, barbecue short ribs and lemongrass chicken skewers (ranging in price from about $10 to $15). Traditional sushi lovers should also find plenty to please them, as Salazar offers a variety of specialty rolls, sashimi (raw fish) and nigiri (raw fish over formed rice) which run from about $9 to $18.
Asian-Mexican menu
But it’s the fusion dishes that really help set Yugo Sushi Bistro (which roughly translates to fusion sushi restaurant) truly apart. You’ll find Spanish fried rice, combining Mexican-style rice with choice of kimchi, chicken, beef and vegetables, and beef barbacoa potstickers, putting Mexican slow-cooked barbacoa inside fried wonton wrappers.
And then there’s the sushi burritos, which have been an emerging food trend in the past couple years. Salazar fills a crispy nori seaweed sheet with raw fish, imitation crab salad, tempura shrimp, jalapeno, cream cheese, cucumber, avocado and sauces and then wraps it all to-go style in aluminum foil (which run about $12). The sushi burrito is also a bit of clever camouflage, he admits.
“Being in Riverbank that’s heavily populated with taquerias, I had to blend in with the crowd,” he said. And, yes, you’ll also find tacos on made-to-order tortillas on the menu.
Since opening in November, the restaurant has attracted a steady crowd eager to try Riverbank’s only sushi spot as well as the new fusion options. To ensure he is serving the best, Salazar uses Modesto-based Ohana seafood which brings in fresh catches daily from San Francisco.
Salazar also makes most of his own sauces from scratch, save the soy sauce, and tries to source his produce locally. He is also available on DoorDash and Grubhub. While the restaurant does not currently serve beer or wine, Salazar plans to start once he is approved for a liquor license.
The operation is small, besides himself and two employees, he relies on occasional help from his mother-in-law who has a dish on the menu named in her honor (Yeay Yeay’s Kitchen). He is actively trying to hire more chefs and back-of-the-house workers, so anyone with skills looking for employment should stop by the restaurant.
Until then, be patient. Salazar is often the only one in the kitchen, and also the only one manning the sushi bar. The small space seats about 30, and once it warms up there will be additional seating outdoors on the patio.
Yugo Sushi Bistro, at 3542 Atchinson St. in Riverbank, is open 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday. For more information call 209-502-7137.
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 3:11 PM.
