Valley Restaurant Awards: Is your favorite place on this list?

By Bethany Clough

Updated March 12, 2018 6:13 AM

Dozens of restaurants were honored at the 2017 Best of the Valley Restaurant Awards Monday night, along with one longtime restaurateur.

The event was organized by the Fresno chapter of the California Restaurant Association.

A lifetime achievement award was given to Jon Koobation, who ran Jon’s Bear Club in Reedley for decades. Now called The Bear Club, Koobation sold the business in 2013.

Jon Koobation was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Best of the Valley Restaurant Awards Monday. Koobatian ran Jon's Bear Club in Reedley for decades. California Restaurant Association, Fresno chapter

The Bear Club has been around in one form or another since 1935, when it started as a small bar, serving mostly farmers and farm laborers behind a grocery store.

Koobation, who grew up in Dinuba, learned to cook on the job, working his way from a prep cook and sous chef at Lake Tahoe-area restaurants before coming home to the Valley. He worked at Vallis’ Restaurant in Kingsburg, the Redwood Inn of Sultana, Dinuba Ranch and the Swedish Mill. He became the Bear Club's executive chef in 1973.

Koobation wrote a cookbook recently, "Cooking with Jon," which includes recipes like “Chicken George" — grilled chicken with sautéed mushrooms and artichoke hearts — and stories about the restaurant, food and car racing.

The restaurant awards were given out at the Fresno Convention Center:

▪ Best breakfast: Fresno Breakfast House

▪ Best fast food/drive-thru: Chick-fil-A

▪ Best fast casual: Deli Delicious

▪ Best Asian restaurant: Sakura Chaya Tokyo Cuisine

▪ Best Mexican restaurant: Sal's Mexican Restaurant

▪ Best family dining: Pismo's Coastal Grill

▪ Best fine dining: The Annex Kitchen

▪ Best pizza: Mike's Pizzeria

▪ Best sushi: Edo-Ya Tokyo Cuisine

▪ Best winery: CRU Winery

▪ Best sports bar: The Mad Duck