Last month, the Great Food Search went Taco Hunting, and I bagged some good ones, but I kept hearing about other places and other tacos, so, in our quest for news you can eat, Kings River Life brings you “Tacos, Part 2.”
Despite the drought, California is still the king of American agriculture, and the San Joaquin Valley is still the center of California agriculture. To help the Valley stay on top of the food heap, the Fresno Food Expo helps food producers (farmers) meet food buyers (market chains, restaurants, school districts…and people who like to eat). The fifth annual Expo happened July 23, with 121 producers meeting 917 buyers from all over the Valley, state, nation, and world, and 1100 happy people showing up for the evening’s public session.
I grew up on my mother’s Anglo tacos: greasy hamburger crumbles in a break-apart tortilla shell, with shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, and ketchup on top. I know, that’s as far from a true taco as anyone can get, but I want you to understand my starting point for this Great Food Search journey into the world of the taqueria. A taqueria can be a restaurant, or it can be little more than a kitchen, a food truck without wheels. I sampled tacos from several points along the spectrum, and I had a pretty good time of it.
The glazed tiles in front of the cash register desk say “Sofia’s–since 2015.” The message reflects the pride, the hope, and the quest for quality of Sofia’s California Cuisine, 11th & N Streets in Sanger, one block east of Academy.
Buffets—no, I’m not talking about Jimmy and his parrothead pals in Margaritaville—are faster than fast food, homelier than home cooking, and come in many varieties. The Great Food Search presents a sampler—a smorgasbord, if you will—of all-you-can-eat places in the Central Valley. This isn’t everybody (Sorry, Ole Frijole—I wasn’t in your neighborhood), but here are some nice places to feed a bunch of people.
It’s baseball season (For Dodger fans like me, my brain is already telling me, “Give them time. It will all fall apart.”) What do you eat during baseball season? Hot Dogs!
I received an email from our editor: “Sending a reminder that your column is due next weekend–any chance of something springy feeling?”
Springy?
Considering that I’d just spent more than a week tromping through the Tower District, seeing 31 Rogue shows and writing reviews, I couldn’t think of…
In the past, the Great Food Search has done theme articles, comparing pizzas, donuts, hot chocolate, Mexican restaurants, or soups. More recently, the articles have featured one restaurant at a time. Now, it seems, I have stumbled into writing a series of single-restaurant reviews on one theme: it started with a lighted sign in the night: Dickie’s. I have wandered into Barbecue Land.
A new year has burst upon us, a time for new beginnings, a time for new places to eat. While shopping at the new center on Herndon near 99, I saw a light in the sky, and it said “Dickey’s Barbecue Pit.” I always try to follow the advice of my mother: go towards the light. I did, and it was goo-ood!
2014 has been a delicious year for The Great Food Search. I have discovered the joys of Vietnamese pho, soups, salads, and chicken chains, visited new favorites where old favorites used to be, and found good eating where I least expected it (Chinese food in Orange Cove?). My top five restaurants of 2014 are places I went to review…and returned to enjoy…and enjoy…and….
