Fres-NO

I had to hit up Fresno, CA last week for work. I was not incredibly excited to fly to the "armpit of California" especially after my culinary research showed that unique Fresno restaurants were absolutely nowhere near our hotel--and pretty hard to come by. It seems that Fresno-ites LOOOVE their chain restaurants. And there wasn't a person we came across who could recommend one hole-in-the-wall-local secret-can't miss it joint.

You can't fly direct from any of the DC airports to Fresno, so after a long flight cross-country, my colleague and I were rather tired and very hungry. And so we were basically left with three options: IHOP, Sweet Tomatoes and Chili's.

Chili's was decent, and perhaps because we were so tired and hungry, the chicken tacos were quite yummy and satisfying, with a little heat, and piquancy from the cheese. For a good meal on the run, the Chili's in Fresno was quite on spot. They also swapped my beans and rice for grilled broccoli--which helped me to hit my 5-A-Day veggie quota. They were very accommodating. The portion was ample, but reasonably healthy.

An even better surprise was the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant, which bills itself as one of the first casual eateries to offer fresh and wholesome menu options. They are very big on the West Coast (only a few shops in the Southeast), so I hadn't heard of them--but I'm glad I did!

It's an all-you-can eat menu--all for under $10!!! They have fresh produce and salads, made-from-scratch soups, hot pastas, freshly baked breads, fresh fruit, and desserts--a pretty good deal for a quick dinner out, for a family, or someone who has to limit their expense report! Plus, for a budding culinary connoisseur, I could try a little bit of everything!

The lettuces were crisp and there was a good variety of spring/mesclun mix, spinach and iceberg; plus dozens of toppings from veggies to cheeses to prepared salads to top your lettuce. The hot pastas and veggies were nice, but nothing to write home about--sauteed squash and an okay mac and cheese that looked too much like Kraft for me to take seriously.

I was impressed with the variety of soups as well, which are all made-from-scratch. I tried the French Onion, which was good but nothing special--because there was just some drippy Parmesan and croutons to sprinkle on it. I prefer Gruyere, and a nice piece of toasted bread.

Additionally, I tried some of the Three-Bean Turkey Chili which had a little heat, but was quite tasty (and low-fat!), and sprinkled some sour cream, cheese and green onions to complete it. My favorite was the Deep Kettle House Chili. Mmmh! Nice and spicy but with ground beef, and less bean. The breads available were great and I tried a bite of the corny cornbread, which was light and surprising, with bites filled with corn kernels.

To end, we took a turn at the soft-serve ice cream/yogurt bar, where we tried the vanilla yogurt. I tried a little of the chocolate sauce (rich!), caramel (sweet but not cloying!) and my favorite, rainbow jimmies/sprinkles (if you're from NE like my mom's family is, you prob call the longer logs jimmies, and the round balls sprinkles).

Anyhow, business travel is not always steak houses and fine dining. Sometimes, you have to make do with a chain. But at least, I found a new chain who offers healthier options and the ability to choose what you eat all for one low price.