by Terrance Mc Arthur

2023 was quite a year for The Great Food Search, reviewing 34 different eateries. Here’s a top five.

Cool Hand Luke’s Steakhouse—955 Shaw Ave, Clovis—It has nothing to do with Paul Newman’s chain gang movie. Cool Hand Luke’s is a Western-themed restaurant with a menu loaded with down-home steak-and-potatoes fare. Steak bites may have been on the appetizers list, but it was a major-league meal when paired with one of their baked potatoes. The Tombstone chicken pasta gloriously combined mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, onions, fettuccine, and grilled chicken into a dish that left leftovers galore. The sides of campfire beans, soup, salad, mashers, fries, green beans, and premium sides like grilled asparagus, bacon mac & cheese, and artichoke alfredo can make you drool at the thought of them.

Fugazzis—1335 Draper St., Kingsburg, CA—It was a cool refuge from the heat of a Kingsburg Swedish Festival Saturday, but this upscale bistro with reasonable prices was a happy surprise. A beefy beef stroganoff with thinly-sliced steak, oniony, mushroomy, and drizzled with sour cream, set off a corn chowder that did not skimp on the corn. A porkalini pesto pasta featured burnt sausage ends, applewood bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled onions, pesto sauce, scallions, and cilantro tossed over, under, around, and through angel hair pasta. Service was as good as the food and the atmosphere. It’s no wonder many hungry, in the know drivers turn off Highway 99 at Kingsburg!

Noah’s Ark Restaurant & Bakery—783 E Barstow Ave Ste C, Fresno—Surviving misplaced vandalism, Noah’s, near Hoover High, is Armenian-based Mediterranean cuisine, carefully prepared with time and love. Russian borscht and lentil soup or both are good starter choices. Kabab plates and mega-sized wraps are fantastic, and the grilled veggies and the salad are can’t-lose options. The desserts are dangerously addictive, like the sky-high cheesecake and the drippy-licky-sticky baklava. A birthday party of more than a dozen celebrants barely made a dent in the spacious dining area. My wife and I keep coming back for more.

The Sticky Icky Barbeque Co. Featuring Uncle George Kebab—628 O St., Sanger—Taking over where the retiring “Uncle George” left off, SIBC kept some Mediterranean dishes and added a plethora of full-strength BBQ. Pulled pork shredded with vigor, slabs of tri-tip, and a Sticky Icky BB sauce that was high on the sticky but not icky at all! The sandwiches feature sauteed vegetables along with the meat in generous rolls and a whole lot of sauce. The sweet potato fries are stellar, dippable deep-fried green beans are unbelievable, and the roasted glazed brussels sprouts are as unexpected as the Spanish Inquisition (reference added for Monty Python fans).

Triangle Burgers—4915 McKinley Ave., Fresno—This former Wendy’s is now a 50s-style burger place with black-and-white checkerboard flooring, red vinyl seating, rock-and-roll oldies playing, and 45rpm records on the walls. The Great Food Search came in search of banana splits, and we found a doozie! The ice cream has a home-churned quality to it, and after the chocolate, strawberry, and pineapple are put in place with a split banana to secure them, peanuts and mountains of whipped cream are drizzled in chocolate before the crowning maraschino is added. Triangle Burgers is more than banana splits. The burgers, pastrami, fish, and mushrooms are o-so-good!

By The Way—Among the 34 places where we ate were 14 food trucks from the movable feasts of the Fresno Street Eats. Some notable vehicles and trailers? Duck Haus, Greek N More, Quirky Café, Wetzel’s Pretzels, and Havana Café. Look for them.

Check out more food articles and more of Terrance’s Great Food Search column in our Food Fun section. And check out a KRL staff profile this week on Terrance!

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.