Lobster tail garlic noodles, more international flavors offered at new Modesto restaurants
Modesto got a heaping helping of more international flavors thanks to the opening of two new restaurants.
Mexican-Japanese fusion spot Mexihanas Hibachi Grill and Tandoori Masala Indian Cuisine have debuted recently, offering fresh-made dishes with distinctive flavors.
In downtown Modesto, the first Northern California location for Long Beach-born Mexihanas Hibachi Grill is ready to serve up its take on two distinct cuisines. The restaurant, from Ceres resident Ginn Sanghera and wife Danielle, came out of their love of the original Southern California locations.
So Sanghera — who already owns a local trucking company, Modesto’s Cutting Edge Barber Academy and three area locations of First Impression salons — reached out to the restaurant’s founder Martin Luzanilla to license its name and recipes. Now open for a few weeks, the restaurant has brought new life to a long-vacant space of J Street.
Inside, the decor matches the restaurant’s fusion cuisine, with murals of Mexican icon Frida Kahlo as well as displays of Japanese art. The modern space is the area’s first brick-and-mortar fusion hibachi restaurant, a style of cooking on a large flat grill popularized in Japan.
The menu gives diners their choice of meats — from steak and chicken to lobster tail, shrimp, tuna or salmon — which are combined with grilled vegetables and fried rice. The restaurant also offers garlic noodles, which can be added to combinations.
“As a Mexican fusion place, a lot of people are expecting tacos. But you can get a taco anyplace down the street,” Sanghera said. “This is something different.”
Combinations run $23 to $35, and offer a hearty helping of food. For those looking to feed a crowd, the LBC combo offers a mound of almost all of their meats (lobster tail, shrimp, angus steak and chicken) plus fried rice, garlic noodles and mixed veggies for $45. It was enough for two people, with leftovers to spare.
For those looking for a quick, cheaper lunch, the restaurant offers a daily special from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a choice of chicken, steak or shrimp along with fried rice and vegetables for $12.
Mexihanas Hibachi Grill, at 914 J St. in downtown Modesto, is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information or to order pickup or delivery visit mexihanasgrill.com.
Indian restaurant from former downtown favorite opens
Across town in north Modesto, one of the former chefs of downtown Modesto’s pandemic-closed Monsoon Restaurant is back with a place of his own. Deepak Dogra and his wife, Baljeet Dhindsa, have opened their first restaurant together.
Tandoori Masala Indian Cuisine opened in early November in the In-N-Out Burger shopping center across from Costco on Pelandale Avenue. The restaurant takes the place of a short-lived restaurant that Dhindsa was involved with.
But together the Turlock pair has decided to focus on largely northern Indian flavors. Shrinking their menu to about 20 entrees has allowed them to ensure they have the freshest and highest quality ingredients. That includes about a dozen vegetarian dishes including aloo gobhi (cauliflower and potatoes in an onion sauce), shahi paneer (firm Indian cottage cheese in a tomato cream sauce) and channa masala (garbanzo beans in tamarind sauce) for $10.99 to $13.99.
They also offer a handful of meat and fish dishes from curried goat, lamb, chicken and salmon ($12.99 to $17.99) and tandoori chicken and basa fish ($11.99 to $14.99).
“Many Indian restaurants have so many dishes, but we don’t want to serve old food,” Dhindsa said. “Me and my husband decided to pick the best, most popular dishes. With a shorter menu we can give better quality. We make our food fresh every day.”
They also decided to pass on having a buffet, a popular offering in many area Indian eateries, to serve the freshest food possible. The restaurant offers an affordable lunch combo from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, which includes a main meat dish plus a chef’s choice vegetarian dish, rice and naan for $13.99.
Tandoori Masala Indian Cuisine, at 3900 Pelandale Ave., Suite 150, in Modesto, is open 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information call 209-360-2955.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
