by Terrance Mc Arthur

I’ve lived in Fresno County since 1980 (plus three years at Fresno State). I’ve been to a lot of restaurants, and I’ve been to some restaurants lots. I’m going to share a few of my go-to places where I ought to earn frequent-flyer discounts.

Blossom Trail Café—864 N. Academy Ave, Sanger—Where Belmont and Academy Avenues meet, my wife and I often meet for breakfast or lunch (although we go in the same car). My wife’s Waffle Meal sported a healthy-sized waffle of generous thickness. With two eggs over easy, country potatoes, and sausage links, it was a major meal. My Asada Fajita Omelet featured grilled asada, onions, bell peppers, Jack and Cheddar cheeses, salsa, topped with sour cream and guacamole, with country potatoes, and a biscuit and gravy on the side. Those skin-on red potatoes are cooked to that almost softness I like.

Chuck Wagon—1203 Academy Ave., Sanger—If a place has thrived in Sanger for 40 years or so with people coming out of their way to buy what they’re fixing, they must be doing something right! We bought the Chili Cheese Dogs, and oh! how messy they are! Ten-inch franks with cheese and onions and a meaty, beanless chili. The chili recipe is a well-guarded secret (at least, they won’t give it to me). I buy the chili by the quart to take home and pour it on my baked potatoes. We added an order of breaded mushrooms because we deserved a blast of deep-fried goodness. There’s no indoor seating at the Chuck Wagon. Some people eat in their cars, like a drive-in movie without Tom Cruise on the screen. Don’t expect to eat there on Wednesdays. They’re closed then, which seems to be a Sanger thing. Go figure.

Red Caboose Café—5054 N. Academy Ave., Ste. E, Clovis—Where Shaw and Academy Avenues meet, my wife and I often meet for breakfast or lunch or dinner (yeah, same car). This time, I introduced my wife to my favorite sandwich, the Buzzard Junction, which is much better than its name; it’s not roadkill. It’s grilled chicken, mushrooms, and Jack cheese jammed into grilled sourdough, with a tub of honey mustard for dipping. A spear of crisp pickle accompanies the sandwich, and I opted for clam chowder as my side. We didn’t have much conversation; it’s hard to talk when you’re attacking the plate. For take-out, we went home with a Trainwreck Pizza.

Yosemite Falls Café—1455 Shaw Ave., Clovis—My wife and I used to go to monthly meetings of a mystery writers/fans group at the Yosemite Falls on Ashlan Ave. by Highway 99, but neither the group nor the restaurant survived the Covid pandemic, so we now go to the Clovis one on Shaw Ave. near Sunnyside Ave. The food is just as good. I had the Mountain Climber sandwich, loaded with sliced tri-tip, grilled onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, mayo, au jus, and a toasted garlic butter French roll, with serious French fries that had flavor and crunch that were a pleasant surprise. My wife had a friendly steak with soup, mashed potatoes, and mixed carrots and broccoli that left her very happy.

The Verdict—It’s hard to choose, when you picked restaurants that you go to frequently because you love the food they serve. Yosemite has a backwoods atmosphere; Caboose is loaded with railroad memorabilia; Blossom has some of the hardest-working servers in the business; and Chuck Wagon—it’s the chili. It’s always the chili. That’s one of the reasons people live in Sanger, to be close to that chili. It’s a clear winner.

Happy Eating!

You can find all of the Great Food Search columns here.

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.