Fusion

April 4, 2010

4 Taste Fusion Bistro brings international flair to Interlochen
By Danielle Horvath
With an entrepreneurial spirit and what he hopes is a good hunch, Mike
Pugh has jumped into the Interlochen food scene by opening 4 Taste
Fusion Bistro last fall.
The former Grandma’s Kitchen location in the Interlochen Plaza has
been renovated, updated and reinvented into a corner bistro feeling
place with an international flair that features Asian, Italian, French
and American dishes. With soft lighting, student art on the walls, a
welcoming staff and a surprisingly diverse menu, it has an upscale
feel combined with neighborhood friendliness.
“I felt like the community and visitors would embrace a different
variety and so far the response has been great. The Asian dishes are
by far the most popular,” Pugh said.
The specialty Pad Thai with sautéed chicken, steak, shrimp or tofu,
has become the top choice for their growing list of returning
customers. All dishes are prepared from scratch, using fresh, local
ingredients when available. The menu varies from shrimp and scallop
scampi, to slow roasted pork prime rib, red snapper and ahi tuna, to a
hearty New York strip or eggplant involtini, and all can be topped off
with their luscious homemade crème brûlé.
Just down the road from the Interlochen Arts Academy, Pugh has yet to
experience the summer business, and he is anticipating a busy season
and is anxious for the start. “The support from the community and
particularly the township has been great,” Pugh said, “We have a lot
of returning customers.”
Pugh envisions an upscale neighborhood bar with pub tables and TVs.
He’s waiting on a liquor license and has plans for a lounge tied in
with an adjoining banquet room.
Pugh was born and raised in Suttons Bay and worked in the Boone family
restaurants for 15 years. “I’ve done it all – bartend, cook, wait
tables, wash dishes, create menus,
and also was in sales for several years before that.”
After looking at locations in Kingsley and downtown TC, he decided on
the Interlochen corners spot because he sees it as a growing area, and
with the popularity and growth of other area restaurants including the
Hofbrau and Giovanni’s, he thought there might be room for more.
So far, it has been a lot of work. “It was an old building that needed
a lot of work to bring it up to code and to change it from the way it
was. I learned that whatever you think you need to put into something,
times it by two,” Pugh said with a chuckle.

4 Taste Fusion Bistro is open Mon-Fri 11-9, Sat 11-10 and Sun 12-9;
they feature weekday specials, with lunches in the $7-9 range and
dinners $10-17.