The owners of Heirloom, Butterfish have opened their newest restaurant concept in Fresno
What’s a “naako”?
It’s a taco, except instead of a tortilla it’s made with naan flatbread.
It’s on the menu at newly opened Mayd Modern Mediterranean, at Palm and Herndon avenues.
The restaurant is in the same spot as the former poke bowl place Butterfish, and has the same owners at the two remaining Butterfish locations and restaurant Heirloom. (And you can still get delivery across Fresno from the remaining Fresno Butterfish location on Friant Road.)
The owners kept the customizable aspect of Butterfish’s build-your-own bowls, but switched the restaurant Mediterranean cuisine with a twist.
They’re “taking traditional dishes and kicking them up a notch, just flavor or combinations that aren’t typical but work really well together,” said Rema Koligian.
And in case you were thinking that Indian naan bread wasn’t Mediterranean, yeah, they’re taking a broad view of the term here (and naan actually has some roots in the Middle East).
Food on the menu
You can get a shawarma bowl, with the shawarma (the meat you usually see cut off a vertical rotisserie at restaurants) made from tri-tip. Or, you can get a tandoori cauliflower bowl.
There’s also a crispy chicken sandwich on the menu.
And snacks, as they call them, range from fried artichokes to cauliflower salad and Mayd potatoes, which are squares of crispy potatoes served with crispy kale and sea salt.
The full menu is on the Mayd Mediterranean app. It’s all fast, casual food, with most meals ranging in price from $10 to $13.50.
The restaurant also has a pickup window, so you can order on the app and pick up from the window without going inside.
It had the to-go window long before COVID-19 here and at its other restaurants, but it’s proving valuable during the pandemic.
The owners also completely remodeled the interior of the restaurant. It will eventually have a few tables outside, and participate in food delivery apps.
As for the name Mayd?
“It was our take on handmade, homemade, that sort of feeling of getting real good home-cooked food but in a restaurant,” Koligian said.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
