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Two years ago, Ellie and Drew Quintana opened a meal prep service, Fresh Direct Fusion, working out of the kitchen at The Vault Restaurant in Hollister. Last November, they started their second culinary adventure with a mix of Asian and Western influences: Inaka Fusion, located in San Juan Bautista.
“When we decided to look into, you know, our own brick and mortar,” Drew said, “we saw this restaurant. We thought it would be the perfect little spot to introduce San Juan Bautista to a culinary side we were truly excited to share with everyone.”
The new venture shares only the logo and name of the previous business at that location, Inaka Japanese Restaurant, which closed last March. The couple arranged with Inaka owners Steve and Dave Io to adopt the name, which means “small village” in Japanese, to reflect the spirit of the town and to continue the spirit of the former restaurant’s cuisine.
However, the menu varies widely from that restaurant’s offerings, with a less exhaustive selection of standard Japanese dishes, which often include non-traditional ingredients and approaches, as the “Fusion” in the name implies. The menu, the recipes, and the plating all present a uniquely new vision and identity, created in partnership with Iinaka Fusion’s skilled executive chef Musashi Yamashita.
The tender Mushroom Dumplings, for example, are made with crimini, portobello, and shiitake mushrooms, cooked down with white wine and garlic, then encased in house-made wrappers that incorporate charcoal to achieve a pitch-black color. They are topped with crispy oyster mushrooms, pickled Fresno chilis and truffle oil.
“We took an authentic Chinese dumpling,” Drew said, “and incorporated some Italian flavors into a really cool dish. I was always a kid who colored outside the lines, and I have expressed this here, and in the other dishes we are presenting.”
There are other things to love about the small plate menu as well. The Pork Gyoza is steeped with black vinegar and ginger, the Wonton Tacos, a personal favorite, brings in grilled lemongrass chicken and cabbage slaw, and there are bows to Western tastes in dishes like the Woodland Flank Steak, served with herb roasted mushrooms, and Chicken Wings, with coconut and Thai chili marinade and a teriyaki glaze.
(Pro tip, offered by Yamashita: give the house-made mustard teriyaki a try. Made with hot karashi mustard, it offers a nice depth of heat and flavor that nicely balances the sweetness of the sauce.)
Ellie said that the couple’s young son, Kade, refers to shishito peppers as “garden candy,” and the mildly spicy capsicum is also on the menu. Test-tasted by friends and family before making it into the rotation, the peppers are roasted and then kicked up with a spicy teriyaki and plated with yuzu aioli and crispy shallots.
With daily deliveries of fresh fish, the menu also offers built-in flexibility, allowing for creativity based on availability and inspiration. One recent addition to the menu, the Johnny Tsunami Roll, was developed by Drew and his brother Devin just a few weeks ago at Christmas
Inspired by a rewatching of a favorite film, Disney’s 1999 feature “Johnny Tsunami,” the roll offers the unique choice of coconut prawns, which are combined with fresh scallops and the highest grade of sushi rice, all topped with a tropical salsa made with mango, pineapple, serrano chili, lemon, lime juice, cilantro, and shallots.
Inaka Fusion also offers standards like the Crunchy Roll, with shrimp tempura, kanikama crab, avocado, crunchy tempura, and teriyaki. The ubiquitous California Roll is not on the menu, but Drew said that roll, or any other popular roll, can be made on request.
But why settle for the ordinary when you could be ordering the namesake Fusion Roll, with shrimp tempura, snow crab, cucumber and big eye tuna, topped with crunchy garlic, scallions and honey ponzu?
Or the Chingona Roll, made with shrimp tempura, snow crab, spicy tuna, and salmon, this collaboration offers a twist on Mexican cilantro aioli, made with Japanese Kewpie mayo and yuzu, with a nod to Yamashita’s love of lemony acidity.
Can’t make up your mind? Two dishes have, according to Drew, “a little bit of everything,” based on what the fish deliveries bring in that day. The Sakana Crudo is made with bigeye tuna and Scottish salmon, with pickled vegetables and sriracha caviar. And the monumental Mo’i, served on a black platter, has shrimp tempura with salmon and tuna sashimi and a dash of the karashi teriyaki.
Drew describes Inaka Fusion as not being a “come and try sushi” restaurant but rather a chance to “come see what cool ideas and cool things we could put on a plate.” And, perhaps surprisingly, some of those dishes have nothing to do with Japanese cuisine.
One of the most popular is the Steak Frites, a tender 16 oz. grilled New York strip topped with a garlic compound butter and served on a bed of Parmesan fries. (The fries are also on the Small Plates menu.) And for those who want something basic, there is a chicken with risotto in a white wine sauce, which was one of the hits of the soft opening.
“We had people ordering it,” Ellie said, “and they were asking if they could get an extra side of risotto because they loved it so much. It’s not just basic risotto; it’s outstanding.”
Besides a refined wine list featuring favorites like Chalone, Bernardus, and Rombauer, there is, of course, a selection of fine sakes, including Heavensake, Tyku, and Yuki Saki Nigori, and a selection of mocktails, which Ellie says they plan to expand.
There are two currently offered, both amazingly tasty: the fruity Mock Melon, made with coconut, cucumber, fresh watermelon, fresh lime, and topped with lime seltzer, and the more complex Sunset Drive, with a house-made raspberry coulis and mandarin syrup topped with ginger beer.
As the menu continues in its expansion and refinement, customer response has been “incredibly rewarding,” according to Drew, reflecting, he said, the time, dedication, and attention that is poured into every dish.
“We truly appreciate it when guests notice the small details,” he said. “We’re preparing everything from scratch, so when that effort comes through to the customers, it confirms we’re delivering exactly what we want them to experience.”
Inaka Fusion
313 Third St., San Juan Bautista
(831) 593-5100
Hours:
Wednesday-Friday, 4-8 p.m.
Saturday, 12-9 p.m.
Sunday, 12-8 p.m.
Inaka Fusion can be found on Instagram and Facebook.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
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