by Terrance Mc Arthur

The Great Food Search will go just about anywhere in search of food providers to share with a salivating public. Once more, we scoured the Valley for food trucks with good eats, looking for food trucks parked at Gazebo Gardens, the Tower District Farmers Market, Simonian Farms, Reedley College Farmers Market, and Sanger High School.

Behold the might Duck Haus Pastrami Sandwich, hiding its power in a simple cardboard box!

Duck Haus — The Mad Duck has three brewpubs in the Fresno/Clovis area, but they also have a food truck: Duck Haus, a German Hofbrau on wheels. Imagine a New York Pastrami Sandwich on thick bread with cabbage of the sauerkraut-ish kind, then make it bigger, juicier, and almost as red as a firetruck. It was amazing! My wife went for the Roast Beef Platter and opened the box to find slabs of succulent meat that was nearly an inch thick! The other meat sandwiches look highly tempting, and the sides — Mashed Potatoes with Gravy and a chunky, mustardy German Potato Salad — shouldn’t be hidden on the side … Put them out on display!

Duck Haus Roast Beef Platter with Mashed Potatoes and German Potato Salad. Das ist Gud!

Snickerdoodles and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies made by Graceful Bakes-Scrumptious!

Graceful Bakes — I know this is supposed to be food trucks, but there was a table under a canopy at the Reedley College Farmers Market that was rumored to be terrific, and it was! Graceful Bakes sells little bags of cookies and brownies that scream out, “Take me! Take me!” The Snickerdoodles will make your doodles snicker, and the Oatmeal Raisin cookies have that soft crunchiness that cooks strive to achieve … and they’ve got it! (Check out KRL’s recent article about Graceful Bakes)

Greek N More — I know this is supposed to be food trucks, but some food trailers can be found at these culinary gatherings. When I saw this little trailer selling Greek food, I had to try it as a warm-up to get me ready for Fresno’s annual Greek Food Festival in September. My wife had a Chicken Bowl: happy pieces of chicken nestled in a bed of rice with chopped tomato and a Creamy Garlic Sauce that put taste buds on “Oh, wow!” alert. I went with the Lamb Bowl. It was much like its chicken cousin, but that thin-sliced lamb was an eye-opener, and I had an add-on of Grilled Onions. Hoo-Boy! That was something!

Lamb Bowl with grilled onions, and a Chicken Bowl from Greek N More–Opa!

Meltdown Bistro — I first encountered this mobile eatery in 2016 in the Fresno Carthop days, and I’d almost forgotten about it. I wish I’d remembered sooner. One of the specials of the day was Fried Mac & Cheese Balls: crunchy outside, warm and gooey inside, doused in a Sriracha Sauce worth the price of admission. (Do you remember when none of us had heard of sriracha? It’s everywhere, now. I expect to see it in baby formula, some day!). The Chicken Caesar Melt filled all the space between two slices of crusted parmesan bread with marinated chicken breast, bacon, provolone, romaine, tomato, and Caesar Mayo. Wow!

But Oh! Those Mac & Cheese Balls!

Meltdown Bistro knows how to do a Chicken Caesar Melt!

The Verdict — Meltdown’s Fried Mac & Cheese was an early frontrunner. The meats from Duck Haus took the lead on the backstretch, but down to the wire … it was Greek N More for the win! A big surprise when I talked to the owner after I ate and made my decision — I had worked for her parents in the 1980s! Small world, isn’t it?

Go Forth and Eat!

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.