{"id":390410,"date":"2026-07-08T10:28:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/390410\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T10:28:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:28:30","slug":"fresno-eatery-serves-cabeza-de-res-and-regional-dishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/390410\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno eatery serves cabeza de res and regional dishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Aaron<\/p>\n

Aaron Rodriguez has opened Cabeza de Res El Sinaloense specializing in food from Sinaloa, Mexico, photographed Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Fresno.<\/p>\n

ERIC PAUL ZAMORA<\/p>\n

ezamora@fresnobee.com<\/p>\n

A new Fresno restaurant wants to recreate the feel of a Sinaloan-style eatery with its menu offering an assortment of dishes centered on the tender, slow-coked meat from a cow\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

Cabeza de Res El Sinaloense<\/a> (Beef Head the Sinaloan), opened on March 1 near the intersection of First Street and McKinley Avenue, offers caldo de cabeza, a beef head stew made of the cheeks, tongue and lips of the cow with a generous serving of handmade corn tortillas.<\/p>\n

The stew simmers overnight for 16 hours until the meat is tender and has the texture of shredded beef, said owner Aaron Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

\"Steaming Steaming hot Caldo de Cabeza, slow cooked over 16 hours, is served at Cabeza de Res El Sinaloense, specializing in regional food from Sinaloa, Mexico. Photographed Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Rodriguez, 30, a restaurateur who has been cooking since the age of 15, wanted to bring to life the type of neighborhood restaurant he grew up frequenting on his annual holiday trips to his family\u2019s hometown of Guam\u00fachil, Sinaloa. He also co-owns Myla Mexican Bistro<\/a> in the southern California city of Colton.<\/p>\n

The coastal Mexican state is well-known for its seafood<\/a>, but Rodriguez wants to share another side of Sinaloan cuisine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make it easier for people from Sinaloa to experience the flavors from back home here in town,\u201d he said. \u201cFresno needed something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for those who aren\u2019t accustomed to eating all parts of the cow, not to worry, said Rodriguez. The restaurant also serves rib-eye tacos, quesadillas, quesabirria tacos, menudo blanco \u2014 a tripe-stew in a white broth common in northern Mexico \u2014 guacamole with chicharr\u00f3n, or fried pork rinds, and more.<\/p>\n

The dishes are served on Mexican terracotta clay plates, creating a homey feel. Each table has a wooden spice grinder and a jar of chiltepines, a spicy red chile the size of a pea that is common in the cooking of northern Mexican states like Sonora and Sinaloa.<\/p>\n

On Saturdays and Sundays, Rodriguez said 300 people pack El Sinaloanse to enjoy its stew, from large families to people who want a warm broth after a night of drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our regulars now,\u201d he said. \u201dPeople come here every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Aaron Aaron Rodriguez has opened Cabeza de Res El Sinaloense specializing in regional food from Sinaloa, Mexico including this menudo blanco, photographed Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

With beef at record-high prices in recent months<\/a>, and Rodriguez\u2019s emphasis on quality, such as handmade tortillas, customers can expect prices to be slightly higher than a taquer\u00eda that might serve $2.50 tacos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try and make an honest price for tacos,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t mind holding our value for the people that really enjoy our food.\u201d<\/p>\n

El Sinaloense also sells regional favorites like guava pie and coricos \u2014 a Sinaloan cookie made from corn masa \u2014 as well as salsa, and machaca \u2014 a northern Mexico style of dried beef made in-house. They also specialize in tortillas de asiento, a thin, sope-like fried masa disk topped with asientos, \u2014 the bits of fatty, fried pork rind leftover after making chicharrones \u2014 and topped with cheese (the dish is similar to what are known as chorreadas o peillzcadas).<\/p>\n

\"Pay Pay de Guayaba, or guava pie, is seen at Aaron Rodriguez’s new Cabeza de Res El Sinaloense, specializing in regional Sinaloan dishes, photographed Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com \u2018Magic\u2019 of Sinaloan food in Fresno<\/p>\n

One of those regular customers is Rev. Raul Sanchez, a priest at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church near Shields and West avenues.<\/p>\n

Sanchez walked into El Sinaloanse on Thursday morning in his Tomateros jersey, the professional baseball team from Culiac\u00e1n, the state capital Sinaloa. Sanchez, who\u2019s originally from Navolato, Sinaloa, said he was glad to find El Sinaloense because he doesn\u2019t have many opportunities to visit his home state and in Fresno he couldn\u2019t find the type of food he grew up with.<\/p>\n

Until now.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing here is like traveling to my state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He typically orders a bowl of caldo de cabeza, tortillas de asiento and an agua de cebada, a Sinaloan drink made from barley and cinammon, similar to horchata.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about returning to the flavors we grew up with,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cFood has the magic of taking us back to who we are \u2014 our identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Aaron Aaron Rodriguez has opened Cabeza de Res El Sinaloense specializing in food from Sinaloa, Mexico, photographed Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Cabeza de Res El Sinaloanse Hours: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.; closed Tuesdays Location: 3298 E McKinley Ave, Fresno CA 93703 Online orders available at toasttab.com<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 5:01 AM.<\/p>\n


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

Melissa Montalvo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Melissa Montalvo is The Fresno Bee\u2019s accountability reporter. Prior to this role, she covered Latino communities for The Fresno Bee as the part of the Central Valley News Collaborative. She also reported on labor, economy and poverty through newsroom partnerships between The Fresno Bee, Fresnoland and CalMatters as a Report for America Corps member.\n <\/p>\n