{"id":197546,"date":"2026-02-28T03:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/197546\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T03:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:39:11","slug":"ten-essential-restaurant-dishes-to-try-in-fresno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/197546\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten essential restaurant dishes to try in Fresno"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you live in Fresno, there are plenty of restaurants you should know<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, there are specific dishes at those restaurants that Fresnans rave about. Some are tied up in Fresno\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

They range from a tri-tip sandwich that people line up for to pasta made with another local favorite, sweet corn grown at Fresno State<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s a look at the must-try foods at Fresno restaurants, in no particular order.<\/p>\n

10 must-try foods at Fresno restaurantsBread pudding from Cracked Pepper Bistro \"Bread Bread pudding at the Cracked Pepper Bistro is plated with caramel and whipped cream in this file photo. DARRELL WONG The Fresno Bee <\/p>\n

This bread pudding is easily Fresno\u2019s most famous dessert. And Cracked Pepper<\/a> is one of Fresno\u2019s top restaurants.<\/p>\n

You can get the dessert at the restaurant near Herndon and Palm avenues (and you might try another of the restaurant\u2019s top sellers while you\u2019re there, the mala-insana Napoleon, an eggplant appetizer that can impress even people who don\u2019t like eggplant).<\/p>\n

The bread pudding is made with day-old Danishes, croissants and dinner rolls. It has a brandy-based sauce and is topped with homemade whipped cream. Chef Vatche Moukhtarian once shared the recipe with The Bee and you can find it on our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an urban legend that a pregnant woman in labor once made her husband stop and pick up an order of it on their way to hospital so she could have some before she gave birth.<\/p>\n

Sweet corn agnolotti from The Annex Kitchen \"The The Annex Kitchen uses Fresno State sweet corn as the filling for its agnolotti pasta. THE FRESNO BEE <\/p>\n

These little pillows of pasta filled with the popular Fresno State corn and sprinkled with cheese made a splash when chef and co-owner Jimmy Pardini debuted them at the West Shaw Avenue restaurant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Back in 2016, food critic, author and podcaster Simon Majumdar announced the dish was the best thing he\u2019d eaten in the United States all year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only available when the sweet corn is in season, usually in from late May til August.<\/p>\n

Annex is one of several top-notch restaurants in town created by Pardini, part of a family with a long history of restaurants in Fresno. He opened Annesso Pizzeria<\/a>, and recently Willow Osteria<\/a> in Clovis.<\/p>\n

Max\u2019s Bistro & Bar\u2019s sweet potato fries \"Sweet Sweet potato fries, pictured here as part of Max\u2019s Bistro & Bar\u2019s trio of signature french fries, are a popular favorite among Fresnans. Special to The Bee MAX\u2019S BISTRO & BAR <\/p>\n

If you go to Max\u2019s<\/a> with any regular customer, they\u2019re going to order the sweet potato fries. Or at least the trio of sweet potato fries with jalapeno-arugula aioli, eggplant fries with sriracha aoili and truffle fries with Parmesan.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot more to this classy restaurant at Bullard and West avenues, of course \u2014 like its Kobe beef meatloaf and seafood \u2014 but those fries are a Fresno favorite.<\/p>\n

Bierocks from The Berrock Shop \"Traditional Traditional bierocks from The Berrock Shop at Bullard and West avenues in Fresno are made with ground beef, cabbage and onions. Fresno Bee file photo THE FRESNO BEE <\/p>\n

A bierock is fresh-made dough filled with ground beef, cabbage and onions and baked until golden brown.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the specialty at The Berrock Shop<\/a> at the northwest corner of Bullard and West avenues.<\/p>\n

In addition to the classic bierock, you can also get a barbecued beef version, a Mexican version with beef, cheese and green chiles, and a breakfast bierock with scrambled eggs and ham or bacon.<\/p>\n

The restaurant also serves chicken pot pies and sandwiches. It\u2019s been around since 1977 (back when bierock used to be spelled berrock).<\/p>\n

Chicken and waffles at Chef Paul\u2019s Cafe \"Chef Chef Paul\u2019s Cafe won The Fresno Bee poll of favorite Black-owned places to eat and drink in 2022. SPECIAL TO THE BEE <\/p>\n

Chicken and waffles are a popular favorite of many Fresnans at Chef Paul\u2019s<\/a>, the soul food restaurant on F Street in Chinatown.<\/p>\n

The braised oxtails almost made this list, too.<\/p>\n

But as for that fried chicken atop a waffle, you can get wings, a breast, thigh, a drumstick \u2014 or all of the above.<\/p>\n

And the waffles are no ordinary waffles either. The batter has spices mixed in that give it a little extra something.<\/p>\n

Me-n-Ed\u2019s pizza \"Pizza Pizza like this one is popular at Me-n-Ed\u2019s, a staple with more than 40 locations in the central San Joaquin Valley. PAUL MULLINS Special to the Bee <\/p>\n

Love it or think it\u2019s overrated, Me-n-Ed\u2019s<\/a> is still a Valley classic.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s the straight-up pepperoni or the Valley Veggie pizza, Me-n-Ed\u2019s is the most well-known local pizza spot in Fresno.<\/p>\n

The Fresno-based company has more than 40 pizzerias across the Valley, along with sister restaurants such as Blast & Brew<\/a> locations.<\/p>\n

The brothers behind it, John and Tom Ferdinandi Jr., were featured in The Bee\u2019s Restaurant Royalty series about families who have shaped the Fresno restaurant scene<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first Me-n-Ed\u2019s was founded in 1958 in Sacramento. (The \u201cMe\u201d in the name is Russ Johnson, brother of Shakey Johnson of Shakey\u2019s Pizza.) The Ferdinandis\u2019 father and a partner eventually took over the company before passing it along to their sons.<\/p>\n

Tri-tip at the Dog House Grill \"Francisco Francisco Sanchez pulls dozens of cuts of tri-tip out of the smoker at Dog House Grill in Fresno. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Tri-tip is a Fresno favorite and the most popular place to get it is a Fresno favorite too: the Dog House Grill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can get the tri-tip in a sandwich, on a taco or a salad.<\/p>\n

Tri-tip is so popular here that Dog House goes through 400 cuts of it a day<\/a> \u2014 700 on weekends. That\u2019s what\u2019s being smoked out front of the business on Shaw Avenue.<\/p>\n

The sports-themed restaurant is on Shaw Avenue, across the street from Fresno State. It\u2019s also a big supporter of the university\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n

Pho from restaurants at the Mayfair Shopping Center \"A A steaming bowl of pho awaits customers at Nho Kitchen in the Mayfair Center at First Street and McKinley Avenue in Fresno. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Pho is a Fresno classic. The Vietnamese soup is pronounced \u201cfuh\u201d and made with a clear broth, thin rice noodles and a protein, usually beef, but sometimes chicken or seafood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a reflection of the city\u2019s Southeast Asian population, but one that the rest of the city has eagerly adopted.<\/p>\n

You can find pho at restaurants all over town. But there\u2019s one shopping center that\u2019s home to four pho restaurants.<\/p>\n

The Mayfair shopping center at the northeast corner of McKinley Avenue and First Street is home to Pho 99<\/a>, Pho 75 #2<\/a>, Nho Kitchen<\/a> and Pho #1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fancy burrito at Sal\u2019s Mexican Restaurant \"The The fancy burrito with chile con carne is a popular favorite at Sal\u2019s Mexican Restaurant. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

This burrito features beans and chili con carne in a large flour tortilla topped with more chili con carne and lots of melted jack cheese. It\u2019s a gooey, wet burrito that you eat with a fork.<\/p>\n

Sal\u2019s Mexican Restaurant<\/a> founder, Sal Salazar, invented it in the 1970s using his mother\u2019s chile con carne recipe. Bee readers voted it Fresno\u2019s most famous dish<\/a> in a poll a few years ago.<\/p>\n

You can get it all three Sal\u2019s locations: Fresno, Selma and Madera.<\/p>\n

Tacos from El Premio Mayor or La Elegante \"El El Premio Mayor\u2019s Bianca Loza, top, serves a plate of three tacos from the restaurant\u2019s taco trailer in this file photo. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

You didn\u2019t think we\u2019d make this list without tacos on it, did you? This is Fresno, after all, where almost everyone loves a good taco and it\u2019s home to the Taco Truck Throwdown.<\/a><\/p>\n

The hard part was picking where to get tacos from. So for that, we narrowed it down to two classic, longtime taco shops.<\/p>\n

El Premio Mayor<\/a> has a new location<\/a> at McKinley Avenue and First Street. It also has a taqueria at Maroa and Shields avenues.<\/p>\n

La Elegante<\/a> is another longtime favorite on Kern Street in Chinatown in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Bethany Clough<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers\u2019 questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.\n <\/p>\n