The food truck culture keeps on rolling in Fresno, and I've got all kinds of news about it to catch you up on.
First, there's a new truck in town. Eat Street Bistro will make its public debut Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bella Frutta at Shepherd and Willow avenues in Clovis.
Bella Frutta, the store run by the Ricchiuti family farmers, has been getting quite the turnout on Saturdays and Sundays, with Dusty Buns, Tako BBQ, Benaddiction and Crumb Snatcher Goodies participating.
Eat Street Bistro's menu is "eclectic, miscellaneous, gourmet," says Marc Barton, one of the partners in the business. That means Reuben and po' boy sandwiches, "lobsta" rolls, burgers stuffed with blue cheese and entree salads with pears and gorgonzola. And there's the dish that may get me to try Brussels sprouts for the first time in 15 years -- "not your mama's Brussels sprouts," which are blanched and grilled with roasted garlic and bacon in balsamic reduction.
Chef Suzanne Siroonian is part owner and runs her own catering business. She's worked at Cracked Pepper Bistro, The Ripe Tomato and Parma and has a certificate from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
Eat Street will be at Bella Frutta every Saturday that it doesn't have another catering event. Later this spring, you'll see the truck at all the Grizzlies home games and Fresno State football home games. Other regular events are in the works, too.
You can check them out online now at Facebook.com/EatStreetBistroAndCatering or @eatstreetbistro on Twitter.
Casa de Tamales, the restaurant that can often be found at food truck events with its tamale booth, will soon get some wheels.
The tamale maker will start selling from its new trailer in a few weeks.
Casa de Tamales cut ties with CartHop recently as a result of "creative differences," and won't be appearing at its lunchtime food truck events anymore. And some zoning rules mean they haven't been at Bella Frutta lately, but they will return on both weekend days as soon as they get the trailer.
In the meantime, they're still selling at the Vineyard Farmers market at Blackstone and Shaw avenues from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays.
And they have a new tamale you may want to check out: the drunken chicken tamale. The chicken is marinated in Modelo Light, with orange and lime juices, spices. The beer, is also in the sauce.
Modelo Light is a new-to-the-U.S. beer. Fresno is the first place in the country to get in as a test market for the beer.
The regular Modelo has been around for a while and Modelo Light has been available in Mexico since 1994, but Crown Imports is unveiling Modelo Light here first because we fit their target demographics.
Senior director of brand marketing John Alvarado describes Modelo Light as a high-quality, easy-drinking beer that has a "nice bold flavor at the beginning and as it goes down it has this very refreshing attribute."
They're pretty sure the beer is going to sell well here. The test is mostly for marketing purposes before rolling it out to the rest of the country.
The Modelo folks partnered with local food trucks recently, hence Casa de Tamales' drunken chicken tamale. That is still for sale, though it may be a weekend special.
You can buy Modelo Light mostly at Hispanic supermarkets so far, including these Fresno markets: El Super, both Vallarta locations, El Provinciano and the Fresno Community Market. The Walmart Supercenter in Sanger also carries it.
A new restaurant has opened at the former Tommy's Hamburgers on Fulton Mall. Saigon Deli is a Vietnamese restaurant, but it's paying homage to Tommy.
Tommy Uyemaruko accidentally drowned back in October. His customers have requested the new restaurant owners keep some of their favorite hamburgers, so up on the wall is the "Tommy's Classics" menu board that offers double cheese burgers, chili cheeseburgers and other American dishes.
But the other menu is mostly Vietnamese food. There's pho, spring rolls, rice and noodle dishes and banh mi, Vietnamese sandwiches.
The restaurant is at 944 Fulton Mall. It's open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday -- it also serves breakfast -- though the owners are still figuring out their weekend hours.
New City Chinese Cuisine has opened. The restaurant was formerly Grand Palace on Blackstone Avenue, before closing last fall.
The same family has reopened the restaurant in the former Carrows at 1484 E. Shaw Ave. near Millbrook Avenue and next to Red Lobster.
The restaurant doesn't have a website yet, but you can call (559) 227-0896.