A Few of My Favorite Restaurants in Fresno, California
I live in an area with some very, very good, but few is any really great restaurants.
In this article, I’ll write about mainly independently owned restaurants instead of the franchise and /or chain restaurants.
I am going to start out with a pet peeve – I hate the fact that most restaurants no longer take reservations. I find this very frustrating and dislike having to stand around from 20 minutes to an hour or longer to get seated. When I choose a restaurant to dine at, I’ll try to pick one that still takes reservations. I’ve also noticed, it’s usually the chain restaurants that refuse the reservations.
Italian is one of my favorite foods and we’re blessed with some excellent Italian eateries. Di Cicco’s is by far, my, and my friends’ favorite. Pretty reasonble (prices do vary from location to location???), excellent spaghetti sauce and good traditional dishes and some new ones too. They have several locations between Fresno – Clovis – Sanger, but their Blackstone location near Barstow is currently their best for both food and service.
For calzones, I think Mike’s Pizzeria is by far the very best. They have two locations, the original restaurant and lounge at Shields and West and their small place near on west Shaw near Marks. I stop in every few months for lunch (a calzone, of course). Their pizzas are superb and they’ve won many awards for this specialty. My friend, Cina, would say this is Fresno’s best Italian restaurant.
Ovidio’s (on west Bullard) is always good but a bit pricey on some items. They have a nice banquet room for special occasions. Bella Pasta has opened a second location and I’ve only been there once; I thought the food was better at the first location. Again, a little expensive on some items. I’ve not eaten at Guilia’s, which is owned by the Di Cicco family but some say it’s the best Italian restaurant in town.
Luna’s in Old Town Clovis is always good, pretty crowded and very reasonably priced, especially their luncheon specialties. They also have a small banquet room in the back for private functions. We also have an Olive Garden in Clovis and it’s fun but I think the other restaurants are better. But, their creamy potato soup is very, very good.
Macaroni Grill opened a location several years ago in Riverpark. It’s a fun place to go and I love when they write the orders down with crayons right on the white butcher paper which serves as your tablecloth. I miss the big water glasses they used to serve their wine in – they would bring a big (big!) jug of wine to your table and you’d keep track of how many glasses you poured. Now, they’ve upgraded to wine glasses and I think it took away some of the fun. I also remember an evening when my friend, Harry, was serenaded by a wonderful singer for his birthday. During my last few visits, I haven’t seen (or heard) a singer so perhaps that’s also been discontinued.
Peppino’s has been closed for a few years and it was the best in Fresno in my opinion. Peppe is now cooking his Italian specialties a few nights a week at the Blossom CafÃ?© on Academy in Sanger.
We all miss Lucca’s in Madera whose owners retired several years ago. It was, without question, the finest Italian restaurant in this area. Full dinners, including their minestrone soup, salad, pasta, entrÃ?©e and dessert all served in their dining room. They also had a bar and a large room for wedding/private parties.
With a large Hispanic population, we are lucky to have many restaurants serving Mexican cuisine. Little cafes, big restaurants, chain eateries and lots of independent restaurants all around the area.
One eatery I miss, was a Spanish, (not Mexican), restaurant, Estrada’s, that was located in an old style Spanish house near downtown Fresno. It closed about ten years ago and was best known for its tostado compuesta (hot taco salad). Another place was the teeny Mexicatessen (I think) located downtown Fresno that was a tiny “walk up” place open from 11am to 2pm on weekdays only. It had a very small menu and I remember a dish I’d eat once a week but can’t recall the name of the specialty. Thick flour tortilla, with melted cheese and meat strips- but it was not called a burrito. They too retired, about 15 years ago.
Los Amigos is very good and has a lounge. They used to have two locations – west Shaw near Fruit and a Blackstone location but I’m not sure that’s true any more. Toledo’s first location was on Blackstone (still there???) and was first taken there by some Indian friends who especially liked their fish tacos. It was a small place, always crowded and the best place to be seated was in their covered patio. They’ve since opened a location in Clovis (on Shaw near K-Mart), and I’ve only been there for appetizers and drinks but they were very good.
Antonio’s is good and I think they have more than one location, having closed their first place. Since I haven’t been there in awhile I’m not sure where they’re currently located. RosaLinda’s in Selma is very good and she opened a west Fresno location on Shaw Avenue (near the Piccadilly) a year ago. Franco’s is just a block from Old Town Clovis and I’ve enjoyed many meals there over the years. Unfortunately, a group of friends dined there last month and had a poor experience. I’m afraid some of them will not return.
Bobby Salazar’s is a locally based chain with several restaurants in the Central Valley. The various restaurants are now owned by different members of the original Salazar family. They also have prepared frozen entrees available in several local supermarkets. Their taqueria in the WalMart shopping center in Clovis, has excellent take out food. You’ll usually find them at a booth serving up their specialties at the Old Town Clovis markets (Friday nights in summer), at the Fresno Fair and other venues around the valley. Their very first location in Selma is still open-my friends from Selma dine there often.
I wasn’t introduced to Javier’s (one block east of Clovis Avenue on Kings Canyon/Hwy. 180) until the tv station I worked for moved close by. Now, I enjoy dining there frequently. Very inexpensive, always very, very crowded but with very good food and service. In spite of the crowds, it always moves quickly and you can get in and out in less than an hour at lunch time.
Probably my favorite restaurant dinner is a great salad with oil (olive, please) and vinegar dressing with crumpled blue cheese, a New York steak, medium rare with baked potato (hold the sour cream, please) and creamed spinach. Well, no one locally serves the spinach dish but we have some places serving excellent steaks.
Last evening I was part of a group enjoying Cool Hand Luke’s in Clovis. We had almost an hour wait (again, no reservations!), but were lucky enough to snag seats in their lounge. This eatery was known as Early Dawn Steakhouse (small chain) until a year ago. They closed up, moved a block or so, redecorated and re-opened under the new name. I think it’s better than ever. Also, very reasonably priced. I ate their smaller New York steak last night for $12.99, including salad, baked potato, and beans. It was very good but I was looking at my girlfriend’s dish – the rib eye steak, smothered in mushrooms. That’s what I’ll be having on my next visit.
Fresno was, until a couple of years ago, the corporate home to Tahoe Joe’s Steak House chain featuring its “Sierra Dining.” The original owner has sold it but it’s still excellent. (Dave Fansler, the former owner, just opened another restaurant but I’ve not been there yet; I’m anxious to go because I know it will be excellent.) I think I’ve eaten at almost every location they’ve ever opened – Fresno, Clovis, Vacaville and several others up and down the state. Superb steaks although I think they’re a little expensive compared to a similar quality at Cool Hand Luke’s. One hint when dining here, no reservations but if you stand at the bar, you can get a booth in the bar very quickly.
Ribs and Tips, primarily a catering company, has relocated to the restaurant at the Best Western Garden Court Inn on freeway 99 at Clinton. Their tri tip is their specialty; Jeff, the owner, prepares in his own marinade and the finished product is excellent. They are open only for breakfast and dinner, have a bar and two banquet rooms for private parties.
The Outback also has a location in west Fresno on Shaw Avenue. Very good, but I’ve always found their wooden booths a bit uncomfortable. Again, if you can get into the bar booths and tables without waiting. Cattle Rustler’s has closed its Shaw Avenue location in Clovis and I missed it. It was also very good.
And, the Elbow Room in the back of Fig Garden Village. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed many a meal (ok, and drinks!) there. Great steaks, superb seafood coupled with excellent wines and top notch service – what more could one ask for. Be sure to grab a table on their outdoor patio (heated in winter) to enjoy appetizers and drinks on any evening. They’ve recently opened their “Chef’s Table” which, my friend Amanda, assures me is even better than the Elbow Room! Hmmm, hard to believe.
Unfortunately, Harland’s, once located in Fig Garden Village. It was, in its prime, probably Fresno’s finest gourmet restaurant. I can’t remember where its chef is now working.
Obviously, there are a lot more good restaurants in the Fresno area but this gives you some great ideas on what local restaurants to try out. Look for another review soon about more places I did not mention in this article.
Bon appetite!
