by Terrance McArthur

It’s that season of holidays—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and what have you. Besides celebrating with nonstop Hallmark holiday movies, it is a time for eating, and The Great Food Search does a little globetrotting to share some places to find a few festive foods in the Valley.

Baklava House—2040 W. Bullard Ave., Fresno—In Greece, there are several sweet treats that are traditional at Christmastime. Melomakarona are honey cookies, and kourabiedes are butter almond cookies covered in powdered sugar (Do not make the rookie mistake of inhaling, or you’ll clog up your lungs.), but I found a place to get my favorite Greek delicacy, Baklava. I don’t care if it’s really a Christmas tradition or not, but it’s what I want for Christmas. Baklava is layers of thin phyllo dough alternated with honey, cut in diamond shapes, often with chopped walnuts included. It’s like eating the world’s sweetest lasagna. Baklava House (northwest of the Bullard & West intersection) serves the largest Baklava pieces I’ve ever seen, and I was amaze by the different varieties they make—besides Walnut, there is Apricot, Pistachio, Orange, Raspberry, and Nutella! It sends you into sugar heaven, and it makes a great Thanksmas gift for friends (Thanksmas is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when you show people how thankful you are for them without having to cook a banquet).

Baklava House also has sandwiches and other menu items. The Smoked Salmon Bagel is loaded with Sour Cream, Cucumber, and Avocado, along with a slab or two of butter-soft fish, and is gloriously messy. The Chicken Pesto and the Brisket sandwiches are rich eating experiences. Most of the sandwiches can also be had as Georgian Cheesebread, boat-shaped dough holding meats and veggies and cheese—Yummmm-y!

Cristal Bakery & Restaurant—704 O St., Sanger—If it’s Christmas in Mexico, that means it’s Tamale Time! Cristal makes the empanadas I love, and lots of cookies and pastries, but they also make wonderful plus-size Tamales. Juicy pork inside corn masa, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed to perfection, the Tamales are piping hot, and they stay hot for the one-mile trip to my home, but you can eat them there, if you can’t wait. Cristal has been feeding Sanger and discerning visitors for decades. Delicioso!

Noah’s Ark Restaurant & Bakery—783 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno—Borscht is perfect for winter nights in Ukraine, with beets, potatoes, onions, and meat swimming happily together, with a dollop of sour cream. Noah’s Ark, one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants, serves the Armenian version, which is vegetarian (Vegan, if you leave off the sour cream). My wife likes a steaming bowl with a side order of paprika-and-butter-laced Mashed Potatoes, while I go for Bulgur with Mushrooms, and we end up sharing the mel, family-style. Good stuff!

Besides That—Here’s some other foods from around the world for your winter celebrations:

· Pierogi—Poland’s answer to Ravioli;
· Pannetone—Italy’s version of Fruitcake that won’t end up being regifted or used as a doorstop;
· Latkes—Israel’s Hanukkah treat, potato pancakes to die for;
· Stollen—Germany’s Fruitbread, similar to Pannetone, but with marzipan inside and lots of powdered sugar on top;
· Risalamande—Denmark’s rice pudding with whipped cream, sugar, vanilla, chopped almonds, and a cherry sauce;
· Kentucky Fried Chicken—Kentucky Fried Chicken-Japan loves KFC, thanks to an advertising blitz in the 1974, “Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii!” (“Kentucky for Christmas!”).

The Verdict—Go! Eat! Celebrate! You can celebrate Christmas with any of these foods and eateries, but my pick for December is Noah’s Ark, where I can get that fantastic Borscht.

Preview—Coming up in January is The Great Food Search’s Top of the Year, where I share my favorite restaurants of the year. After that, I’ll feature a new eatery in Sanger: the Sanger Country Café (1839 Academy, Sanger), replacing my much-missed Asian spot, the Sanger Buffet. The Country Café rolls out down-home cooking for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They opened this month, and customers are keeping the servers very busy. I look forward to telling you more about it.

Try something new.

Happy Eating!

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.