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Back in my blogging days, I used to take every opportunity to rip on a “news” story with a question mark at the end of a headline. I always said that if you want to know the answer to a question posed in a headline, you weren’t going to find it by clicking on that article, because the question mark at the end was a clear indicator that whoever wrote it didn’t know the answer either. If they did, there wouldn’t be a question mark there.
Now here I am, sending out a newsletter with a question mark at the end of the subject line.
Is Chinatown the best food neighborhood In Fresno?
The truth is, I don’t know. I know I can’t really think of a better one. Downtown? Tower? I think I still give Chinatown the edge. That new area on Willow and Shepherd where Willow Osteria, Saizon, Otherside Café, and Enzo’s Table are all within one intersection of each other? Whatever you call that has some pretty good food. But is it a neighborhood?
Anyway, I’ve come to realize that the value of a question-mark headline is that you use it when the question is more important than the answer. I don’t think we can say definitively that Chinatown is Fresno’s best food neighborhood, but it’s definitely in the conversation, and that’s a conversation worth having.
Another cool thing about Chinatown is that it’s a place that you can take a day trip to without ever leaving your own city (also a cool thing about Fresno just generally). Chinatown is right here. You can get there and back from most parts of town in a lunch hour, but it always feels like being in a whole other world.
As a “boomerang,” I’ve come to realize that a lot of the things that have made me want to gripe about Fresno (the sprawl, the poor planning, the blighted spots) are, in the right lighting, the same things that make it interesting and unique. Hermit crabs was that. National chains fail (bad) but local businesses take up residence in their husks (good, also cool).
Chinatown is like that. It has clearly been neglected, and it has some ghost town vibes, despite existing right next to the downtown heart of a medium-sized city. And yet that’s part of what makes it unique. Where else could such a neighborhood exist? Where else does one? I’ve never seen it, and I’ve lived all over this state.
Meanwhile, the restaurants and food sellers that thrive there thrive because they’re good. You don’t really visit Chinatown without a purpose. And so the businesses there can’t get away with mediocre food or inflated prices.
With the high-speed rail and investment coming, Chinatown won’t always be like this (for better or worse, hopefully mostly for better). So if you want to see it while it still exists, as this slightly kooky time capsule with curiously good food, now is the time.
To help you out, we’ve got your guide to some of our favorite spots (which is by no means comprehensive, more of a good place to start). A day trip to your own town. Kinda cool, right?
On the news beat, there’s also the latest about the troubles over at Bulle. For what it’s worth, I liked the food.
— Vince Mancini, Contributing Editor, Food
This week’s local food news
Oakhurst’s Snowline Saloon destroyed in fire. I don’t think I ever went there, but it sounds like it was cool. Apparently they managed to save the owner’s Harley. Phew! [KBAK]
559 Taqueria is expanding to a new Fresno location. The Clovis taqueria is moving into a new space with a full bar on Bullard and Marks. [Fresno Bee]
BB’s Gelateria is bringing back “gelato spaghetti.” That’s gelato that looks like spaghetti (but doesn’t taste like it), in case your were wondering. Sounds like the “is it cake?” of ice cream. America, we love our desserts disguised as other things, don’t we folks? Wait, don’t sit on that loveseat! [Instagram]
West Fresno Costco is “pausing their food court operations.” That means no more delicious cheap hot dogs there, at least for the time being. Along with whatever else they sell. Dammit! Now where will I get my Kirkland Signature Beef Wellington? [Fresno Bee]
RareTea is closed indefinitely following a break-in. Who robs a tea shop, honestly? [KSEE24]
Victoria’s Mexican food is moving into the old KFC on Herndon and Spruce. Dang, we get new Hermit Crabs every day. “The Mexican fast-food taco chain has three locations in the San Diego area and one in Merced.” [Yahoo]
— Vince Mancini, Contributing Editor, Food
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This week’s FAT City was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
