August 23, 2025 • 11 mins
Introducing Mexican Sushi with El Sushi Loco Restaurant. Francisco Mendoza's Mexican sushi mixes traditional sushi rice, nori (seaweed) and Japanese sauces with your favorite Mexican flavors like carne asada in the Emperador Roll. Take a listen!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I want to introduce you to Francisco Mendoza. He is
the proprietor there at El Sushi Loco restaurant, and I've
always been fascinating. I've not had his food as of yet,
but I think the combinations and the menu sound terrific. Francisco,
welcome to the Fork Report.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
A no, my pleasure, amazing to be here. Thank you
for having me, oh no, my absolute pleasure. Now we
don't have you in studio today, but we're going to
set that up because I would love to try your food,
and I'd love to shake your hand and meet you,
but I appreciate you taking the time. Tell us a
little bit about El Sushi Loco and how it came about.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Well, Sushi Luka came about in twenty ten when I
was hosting a nephew that I just asked his mom
and asked him, what do you know how to do?
And he said, I'm a succeetto And I said what
food shadow? Have you ever heard that tootchetto?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I didn't either, and I said, oh you make Oh
you mean you're like the sushi thingies, the little right
things that you're popping your mouth.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I didn't know.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I've never had sushi in my line. And that's what
he did, was a sushi chef and said, one day
I get like a food truck and you show me
this Mexican sushi. And he said, sure, but they were
too expensive to like seventy thousand. I was like broke
at the time, and to be quite honest, I was
(01:38):
broken in heart. I was going through a season in
my life. That's another story.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
I didn't have any money.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I only have fifteen hundred dollars saved up and went
onto Craiglist and I found a food cart that looked
like a hot dog cart that people google el sushi
local cart. You'll be able to see this thing. I
don't know how, how and how I got it over here,
but all I know is that's how I began in
twenty ten, catering Mexican sushi on a hawk dog cart
(02:09):
in the streets of La Puente, California.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Well, of course Lapuente, and and the rest is history,
as they say, right, well.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Kind of because I had my I mean, I didn't
have no permit.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I didn't know food.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
I just knew that I just wanted to do something
for myself. I wanted to get married and wanted to
be a dad. I have all these dreams and I
had this cart, but I got kicked out of everywhere.
Finally went home, defeated. I said, what am I doing?
I need to just focus on I was an air
conditioning technician doing pretty well, and people just would knock
on my door. Hey, bro, what's up with this Mexican sushi?
(02:47):
I go, dude, don't you see my it's my house.
But people found this card because I would sell out
everywhere I went, and so people wanted more of this stuff,
and I said, there's something so I did it on
the out of the patio of the Mexican sushi came
alive from the body of my mom's life, and that's
(03:09):
how it started. Finally, I said, Mom, I have an idea.
I'm going to go into the restaurant business. Oh no,
so I'm here you go again. I don't know if
someone your listeners have been there, like when you're in,
you know you're going keep it believing. But there was
just something there that I just go, you know what.
(03:30):
I love this Mexican sushi stuff and I love serving people.
I know I can do it.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
And I told my mom, I know I.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Can do it.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Just give me a check.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
I love it. I know that's begin Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well see, but when you start with the passion and
the term you used, you love to serve people, hospitality
has to start there. You have to desire to want
to serve people first and then having a great idea
like this, and and then you know, executing it. Well,
(04:09):
you know, people coming to your front door, it obviously
hit a chord with them, and the you know the
world was telling you basically this is great. Now were
you born uh in Tijuana or you were you born here?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
That was east and uh. But when I was a young,
young child, maybe not three or four, my dad kidnapped me.
I was living in in downtown La. My dad wanted
to go back to Mexico. My mom did not, and
you know, uh, he kidnapped me. What was amberger? Wow?
(04:44):
I just woke Yeah, I just woke up in a
in a town or city Guyakans in a lot of Mexico.
A lot of crazy stuff going on there and still
is you know, yeah right now there's war there and
so I was there. Years later, I guess my dad
realized that this kid knitted his mom, and she brought
(05:07):
me back, you know, you know, she became a you
know residence. She never gave up. Now she's an American citizens,
very proud of that. And she I get to get
it from my mom. She's just the grinder. She just
she doesn't give up. And I have some moments of
Britain to my lives. I have the wrong turns that
took me two places that you had some other story.
(05:28):
But but so I grew up back in East LA.
That's right, that was I was born in East LA.
And I also grew up in h Eastell.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Yeah, that's a.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
It's a very important part of Los Angeles that a
lot of people don't know much about. But and and
there's a lot of great food that has come out
of that area as well. I'm on the eastern side
of town as well myself. Not East LA proper, but
that you know, being part of your story is uh
(06:02):
is I think part of the American dream and a
part that is often mixed missed in especially you know
today with everything going on with ice and everything like that.
As to they're the people that want to come here
and do good and want to be a part of
the American dream versus you know, the criminal element that
(06:23):
nobody wants no matter who they are.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
All right, stick around.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
We come back and want to talk to you about
your your menu and of course people can find more
on Instagram at El Sushi Loco.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
You can also find it on YouTube as well.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
El Sushi Loco Puente and check that.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Out on the Instagram Facebook, Al Sushi Loco Lapente and
in down in two locations and Mexican.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Sushi Francisco, Mendoza l Sushi Low Go Restaurant. We talked
a little bit about the history. We didn't get into
all the ups and downs. We'll do that when we
can personally sit and I talk about these things. But
I want to get into the menu. So why don't
you break down some of the things that are on
(07:16):
your menu and the twists that you did to them
to you know, maxify them.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Sure you actually coined that term Mexican sushi like people too,
doesn't they? What is that?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
But you know it's made the same, it's wrap the same,
you know, but we usually like fried or grill it.
For example, we make a a gada role like we
used type.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Of stuff you was flying in like a taco truck.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Break down some of these these roles that you have.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Well, there's one of one of the one of the
most famous roles called the embat the Emperor, and it's
like I make twelve twelve.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
We use fresh cilance rolls, fresh peppers, lemons, and we
make our own you know, spicy male sauce, our own
eel sauce. So for example, in Parlota has canny gamma.
These are in greens that you'll find in Japan or
in Asia or an Asian market.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
It's h uh cannykamma fake or crab meat.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
And then we make it fun. We introduce it into
some of these roles. And you know what I was
in Japan.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Like, don't mess with my sushi, Like, yes, you're alone.
But here she loco.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
We make it fun, make it very alive, you know.
And uh, I mean we wrap one of in bacon.
I was talking to you about this all zeo row
and my sinse in Japan goes you make a bacon row, you.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Know, eight hundred years and you want to submarine my sushi?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I said, is that what they like? I like it,
So I'm here to learn from change people. But that's
what we do.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's fresh ingredients that you kind of find in the supermarkets,
you know, but it's easily's west.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It's baked or fried. Not all are fried.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
There's some natural roles, but we still we use a
lot of the sauces we smother our roles. It's fun,
really colorful, and flavor really comes to life.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I love it. Yeah, the understanding color. Of course.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
We all say that you eat first with your eyes,
and I got to tell you, it sounds like you're
doing it right. And I can't wait to try at
Francisco Mendoza aka Frank l Sushi Local Restaurant again. The
website is El Sushi Loco dot com and you can
find him at the same El Sushi Loco on Instagram.
(09:48):
And like, what a pleasure to meet you over the phone.
I look forward to shaking your hand and getting to
eat your food next time we talk.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Okay, yeah, it's great. Added, it's great, great you having
me on.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
It's a pleasure to be on. I'm like kind of
like you and self admitted, you know, food geek. You know,
I love to try new things, and this is no exception.
Those who ever try it, you know, they just keep
on coming back because it's such.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
A good thing.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
So it's a pleasure to be on your show, neil Oh,
the pleasure was.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
All mine, brother, and I look forward to meeting you.
Maybe we'll go out and we'll we'll go investigate some
other places too.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Maybe we'll get the golden studio war that.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Oh, look at that?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Huh No, I know you're an explorer.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I know I could think.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
You take a sushi Al Sushi Loko.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
You know we'll take you.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Will tear it up together, we'll cause havoc. But what
what a pleasure?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Brother? We will talk again, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
The pleasure was on mine. Thank you for having.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Me Francisco of course with Al Sushi Loco. Check them out,
support local, eat local, and keep these places in busines
Nes
I want to introduce you to Francisco Mendoza. He is
the proprietor there at El Sushi Loco restaurant, and I've
always been fascinating. I've not had his food as of yet,
but I think the combinations and the menu sound terrific. Francisco,
welcome to the Fork Report.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
A no, my pleasure, amazing to be here. Thank you
for having me, oh no, my absolute pleasure. Now we
don't have you in studio today, but we're going to
set that up because I would love to try your food,
and I'd love to shake your hand and meet you,
but I appreciate you taking the time. Tell us a
little bit about El Sushi Loco and how it came about.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Well, Sushi Luka came about in twenty ten when I
was hosting a nephew that I just asked his mom
and asked him, what do you know how to do?
And he said, I'm a succeetto And I said what
food shadow? Have you ever heard that tootchetto?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I didn't either, and I said, oh you make Oh
you mean you're like the sushi thingies, the little right
things that you're popping your mouth.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I didn't know.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I've never had sushi in my line. And that's what
he did, was a sushi chef and said, one day
I get like a food truck and you show me
this Mexican sushi. And he said, sure, but they were
too expensive to like seventy thousand. I was like broke
at the time, and to be quite honest, I was
(01:38):
broken in heart. I was going through a season in
my life. That's another story.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
I didn't have any money.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I only have fifteen hundred dollars saved up and went
onto Craiglist and I found a food cart that looked
like a hot dog cart that people google el sushi
local cart. You'll be able to see this thing. I
don't know how, how and how I got it over here,
but all I know is that's how I began in
twenty ten, catering Mexican sushi on a hawk dog cart
(02:09):
in the streets of La Puente, California.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Well, of course Lapuente, and and the rest is history,
as they say, right, well.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Kind of because I had my I mean, I didn't
have no permit.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I didn't know food.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
I just knew that I just wanted to do something
for myself. I wanted to get married and wanted to
be a dad. I have all these dreams and I
had this cart, but I got kicked out of everywhere.
Finally went home, defeated. I said, what am I doing?
I need to just focus on I was an air
conditioning technician doing pretty well, and people just would knock
on my door. Hey, bro, what's up with this Mexican sushi?
(02:47):
I go, dude, don't you see my it's my house.
But people found this card because I would sell out
everywhere I went, and so people wanted more of this stuff,
and I said, there's something so I did it on
the out of the patio of the Mexican sushi came
alive from the body of my mom's life, and that's
(03:09):
how it started. Finally, I said, Mom, I have an idea.
I'm going to go into the restaurant business. Oh no,
so I'm here you go again. I don't know if
someone your listeners have been there, like when you're in,
you know you're going keep it believing. But there was
just something there that I just go, you know what.
(03:30):
I love this Mexican sushi stuff and I love serving people.
I know I can do it.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
And I told my mom, I know I.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Can do it.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Just give me a check.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
I love it. I know that's begin Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well see, but when you start with the passion and
the term you used, you love to serve people, hospitality
has to start there. You have to desire to want
to serve people first and then having a great idea
like this, and and then you know, executing it. Well,
(04:09):
you know, people coming to your front door, it obviously
hit a chord with them, and the you know the
world was telling you basically this is great. Now were
you born uh in Tijuana or you were you born here?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
That was east and uh. But when I was a young,
young child, maybe not three or four, my dad kidnapped me.
I was living in in downtown La. My dad wanted
to go back to Mexico. My mom did not, and
you know, uh, he kidnapped me. What was amberger? Wow?
(04:44):
I just woke Yeah, I just woke up in a
in a town or city Guyakans in a lot of Mexico.
A lot of crazy stuff going on there and still
is you know, yeah right now there's war there and
so I was there. Years later, I guess my dad
realized that this kid knitted his mom, and she brought
(05:07):
me back, you know, you know, she became a you
know residence. She never gave up. Now she's an American citizens,
very proud of that. And she I get to get
it from my mom. She's just the grinder. She just
she doesn't give up. And I have some moments of
Britain to my lives. I have the wrong turns that
took me two places that you had some other story.
(05:28):
But but so I grew up back in East LA.
That's right, that was I was born in East LA.
And I also grew up in h Eastell.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Yeah, that's a.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
It's a very important part of Los Angeles that a
lot of people don't know much about. But and and
there's a lot of great food that has come out
of that area as well. I'm on the eastern side
of town as well myself. Not East LA proper, but
that you know, being part of your story is uh
(06:02):
is I think part of the American dream and a
part that is often mixed missed in especially you know
today with everything going on with ice and everything like that.
As to they're the people that want to come here
and do good and want to be a part of
the American dream versus you know, the criminal element that
(06:23):
nobody wants no matter who they are.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
All right, stick around.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
We come back and want to talk to you about
your your menu and of course people can find more
on Instagram at El Sushi Loco.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
You can also find it on YouTube as well.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
El Sushi Loco Puente and check that.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Out on the Instagram Facebook, Al Sushi Loco Lapente and
in down in two locations and Mexican.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Sushi Francisco, Mendoza l Sushi Low Go Restaurant. We talked
a little bit about the history. We didn't get into
all the ups and downs. We'll do that when we
can personally sit and I talk about these things. But
I want to get into the menu. So why don't
you break down some of the things that are on
(07:16):
your menu and the twists that you did to them
to you know, maxify them.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Sure you actually coined that term Mexican sushi like people too,
doesn't they? What is that?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
But you know it's made the same, it's wrap the same,
you know, but we usually like fried or grill it.
For example, we make a a gada role like we
used type.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Of stuff you was flying in like a taco truck.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Break down some of these these roles that you have.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Well, there's one of one of the one of the
most famous roles called the embat the Emperor, and it's
like I make twelve twelve.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
We use fresh cilance rolls, fresh peppers, lemons, and we
make our own you know, spicy male sauce, our own
eel sauce. So for example, in Parlota has canny gamma.
These are in greens that you'll find in Japan or
in Asia or an Asian market.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
It's h uh cannykamma fake or crab meat.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
And then we make it fun. We introduce it into
some of these roles. And you know what I was
in Japan.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Like, don't mess with my sushi, Like, yes, you're alone.
But here she loco.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
We make it fun, make it very alive, you know.
And uh, I mean we wrap one of in bacon.
I was talking to you about this all zeo row
and my sinse in Japan goes you make a bacon row, you.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Know, eight hundred years and you want to submarine my sushi?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I said, is that what they like? I like it,
So I'm here to learn from change people. But that's
what we do.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's fresh ingredients that you kind of find in the supermarkets,
you know, but it's easily's west.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It's baked or fried. Not all are fried.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
There's some natural roles, but we still we use a
lot of the sauces we smother our roles. It's fun,
really colorful, and flavor really comes to life.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I love it. Yeah, the understanding color. Of course.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
We all say that you eat first with your eyes,
and I got to tell you, it sounds like you're
doing it right. And I can't wait to try at
Francisco Mendoza aka Frank l Sushi Local Restaurant again. The
website is El Sushi Loco dot com and you can
find him at the same El Sushi Loco on Instagram.
(09:48):
And like, what a pleasure to meet you over the phone.
I look forward to shaking your hand and getting to
eat your food next time we talk.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Okay, yeah, it's great. Added, it's great, great you having
me on.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
It's a pleasure to be on. I'm like kind of
like you and self admitted, you know, food geek. You know,
I love to try new things, and this is no exception.
Those who ever try it, you know, they just keep
on coming back because it's such.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
A good thing.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
So it's a pleasure to be on your show, neil Oh,
the pleasure was.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
All mine, brother, and I look forward to meeting you.
Maybe we'll go out and we'll we'll go investigate some
other places too.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Maybe we'll get the golden studio war that.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Oh, look at that?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Huh No, I know you're an explorer.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I know I could think.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
You take a sushi Al Sushi Loko.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
You know we'll take you.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Will tear it up together, we'll cause havoc. But what
what a pleasure?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Brother? We will talk again, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
The pleasure was on mine. Thank you for having.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Me Francisco of course with Al Sushi Loco. Check them out,
support local, eat local, and keep these places in busines
Nes
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