The numbers are staggering – around 40 special rolls, another 14 classics, seven that are deep fried and six for vegetarians, along with nigiri, sashimi, poke, noodle bowls, fried rice and more.
While the menu at Hanabi Sushi in Castroville can seem daunting, for Chef Francisco Mandujano, it’s the proper sum of a career at Japanese restaurants from posh spots on the Peninsula and the Bay Area to unassuming little joints. At each, he encountered both tradition and dabbles of fusion.
“So I put it all together – plus a little Mexican,” the chef says with a broad smile.
Avocado, cilantro and other South of the Border flavors span the menu. El Mexicano is a roll filled with seasoned crab and avocado topped by shrimp tataki, cilantro, green onion and jalapeño, fueled further by a drizzle of hot sauce.
Mandujano also shows a deft touch when it comes to Japanese customs. Yellowtail nigiri, for instance, presents delicate fish – a clean, buttery savor – decorated with a gossamer thread of lime that leaves a finespun acerbic trail. Yet he seems to revel in creations like El Mexicano, which brings distinct ingredients to a roll and calls them into concert. The grassy heat of jalapeño plays in the background, muting its inferno in support of the briny sweetness of shellfish.
The chef’s creativity knows few boundaries, other than an abundance of flavors steadied in unexpected balance. The Mr. Danny roll is an example. Mandujano prepares what might otherwise be humble American-style tuna maki. He then shrouds it in a vibrant salad of lemon, pineapple and mango, along with showers of green onion and cilantro, along with more fish – tuna and salmon – dressed with ponzu and a house garlic sauce.
The result is dazzling, both refreshing and earthy, with little contentious nips of bitterness calmed by sweet and sour nuzzles. Tuna and salmon lend nutty, creamy impressions. It is sushi presented as a carnival. But it also makes sense.
“Sometimes I don’t sleep at night – I want to create something new,” he says as his wife, Yolanda Gonzalez, gives a knowing nod. “I want to be unique. People like it or don’t like it, but if they like it they come back.”
Mandujano took over the longstanding Japanese restaurant three years ago. It had traded owners several times, causing its reputation to suffer. The chef admits that for the first year, the few people who entered the dining room did so with obvious reservation.
But he had experienced such uncertainty before. An experienced Japanese taisho at a fine sushi establishment on the Peninsula once asked Mandujano where he would open a place if he had a choice, then turned his back in disbelief when Mandujano suggested Prunedale.
Ichiban Sushi, wedged in a Prunedale shopping center, became a success. And Mandujano’s faith – patience, too – paid off at Hanabi Sushi (which is also tucked into the corner of a nondescript shopping strip).
“People try it and people like it,” he observes.
Apart from the daring and colorful, the chef also believes in substantial presentations. The specialty rolls are not dainty. Fish and other ingredients peek over the brim of bulky bowls of seafood ramen. Mandujano is also happy to play with the familiar. In its original iteration back in 2011, Hanabi Japanese Restaurant featured a specialty roll with local artichoke. Mandujano’s The Ville similarly celebrates the sushi bar’s home with a shrimp roll crowned with artichoke.
The chef defined his craft over time, on the job. His first position in the restaurant industry was as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant, where Mandujano would marvel at the deliberate construction of maki.
“‘How do they do that?’” he recalls thinking. “I had to learn.”
Now some regulars wave off the menu. They either know what they want – the Vegas roll was a Prunedale favorite that draws Ichiban’s former customers to Castroville – or are keen to test Mandujano’s creative limits by calling for “Whatever chef wants to make.” Hanabi Sushi has become a destination.
“We had to wait a year for customers to know us,” the chef says. “I’m happy people support us.”