👋 Did this email get forwarded to you? Sign up here to get the Fresnoland Food newsletter each Friday.
At long last, Fresnoland Food has a comment section!
From the very beginning of this project, I was adamant that allowing reader comments was crucial for building the kind of community that we envisioned. Yes, you can comment on Instagram, but there’s something about commenting directly on the website right after reading the piece.
That being said, I also understand that I, as the author of FAT City, am neither Woodward nor Bernstein (I’m more like a guy with a good vocabulary who will occasionally agree to eat 35 cheesecakes on a dare). The goal with Fresnoland Food was not to present the illusion of perfect objectivity. If you want to know what’s good, you need to accept some editorial perspective; it’s inherent in the question itself. I always thought that what was missing from food writing around here was authority. It’s why I don’t love listicles based on Yelp reviews or reader polls. The process is easily gamed and it’s missing the kind of perspective that allows you to interpret it. I’m a firm believer that trying to be everything to everyone is the fastest way to be nothing to no one; that the path to the universal is through the specific.
While this project is always guided by specific authorial voices, the goal is also to be as fair and open-minded as possible. A big part of that is listening to feedback. To hear to your tips and to check them out. I want the process to be authoritative, but also communal. There’s a limit, after all, to how many places at which one person can conceivably eat (and I’m determined to find it!).
I also understand that part of the fun of reading any kind of ranking is to think “What an idiot! Here is the correct order of things…”
There needs to be a place to do that, and the comment section, flawed though it can sometimes be, is the best we have. Luckily I’ve been getting called an idiot for my incorrect rankings for close to 20 years now. That’s what happens when you come up through the mean streets of blogging.
Suffice it to say, I look forward to hearing your takes on our own, even if it means being called an idiot now and again.
— Vince Mancini, Contributing Editor, Food
This week’s local food news
People are waiting in massive lines for Trader Joe’s tote bags. Trader Joe’s is definitely not beating the “possibly a cult” allegations after this. My first thought was that only in Fresno could people get this excited about discount grocery-branded tote bags, but a friend in LA sent me a picture of the scene there and it’s even worse. [Fresno Bee on Instagram]
Juneteenth and Downtown Pride Crawl, this weekend! Juneteenth history and freedom celebrations feature a happy hour starting at 3:00 p.m. And then on Saturday, you’ll find food, drinks, and drag performances, organized by more than 10 downtown businesses, starting at 5. [Kocky’s]
La Jacka is closing. After three years downtown and more than ten since they started as a food truck, the jackfruit-based Mexican restaurant is set to close June 30th. The Gods of downtown giveth, and taketh away. [Business Journal]
Valley Prime Meats is open on North Cedar. The butcher shop “seeks to bring back one-on-one service,” with a big selection of specialty meats and a seasoning station. Hey, if I’m going to pay what meat costs these days I might as well get premium service. [GVWire]
Culichi Town appears to be closed. “Its windows are covered in brown paper and the phone is disconnected. Signs for a ‘new concept,’ Carlota Mexican Flavors, say it’s coming in fall 2026.” [Bethany Clough on Instagram]
The Bee profiles “Flauta Kings.” Right now it’s just a pop-up and a catering operation, though you can order over social media and pick it up at their house. I have fond memories of the flautas from Señor Nero’s in Selma, with bright green guac and oh-so-classy carrot ribbons, my go-to order as a kid. [Fresno Bee]
Probably you normally just let that watery tomato discard go to waste, but I’m here to say, there’s at least one good reason to save it: tomato water.
Put a strainer over a little bowl. Now, Instead of throwing your tomato seeds and water pulp in the trash, squeeze/scrape it into that strainer. Push it a bit to extract all the juice, and voila: you have a bowl of tomato water. Season it to taste with salt (maybe even some herbs, if you’re feeling frisky), and now you’re ready to make my favorite tomato season cocktail.
The Tomato Water Negroni
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Then add:
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. gin
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1 oz. tomato water
Shake it up, and pour into a whiskey glass with a big ice cube. Use your garnish of choice; I prefer a Castelvetrano olive. It’s your normal tart negroni, with a weirdly refreshing umami twist. Drink resourcefully.
— Vince Mancini, Contributing Editor, Food
Support independent food journalism
We’re not influencers, we’re journalists. Support local food journalism that lifts up our city, our culture, and the Central Valley.
