Dead in 60 Approved

The deli style sandwich discussion in Fresno can get heated. You got your Sam’s fans and then you got your Gino’s loyalists. The Sunnyside Deli fanatics are oil and vinegar wrestling with the Piedmonte hipsters. Then you have the Packing Shed suits that really screw everything up. Well, in the midst of this I heard from an East Coast transplant that “Ronnie’s Midway Market” on Blackstone just North of Herndon was Fresno’s best sandwich.

Each year there is an event so “Big” that comes to Fresno that it’s hard to miss.  Like a tumble weed, it rolls out as fast as it rolls in.  I’m speaking of the Big Fresno Fair, an 11 day all you can eat hodgepodge of pure unadulterated culinary ridiculousness.  Last year Greg and I had a hell of a time at the horse track, but this year it was all about the food.  We decided very early on that this visit to the fair would be a bowel moving experience, and boy was it.

Smokin’ Dem Bones for “When You Want South in Your Mouth,” that’s what it said on the window at least.  Bo and I took our Monday food reviewing adventure parade into this discreet BBQ joint on First and McKinley.  We first heard of Smokin’ Dem Bones from a man named Mike who fashioned our RoboRun Cup (a trophy awarded to the winner of the RoboRun).  Mike is a self proclaimed “Big Guy” who is particular about portion size.  When we entered his trophy shop, Omega Trophy, he was having his first experience with Smokey.  He tried a burger called the Mr. Texas and claimed it was one of the biggest and best he ever had for the price.  With that kind of recommendation from a guy like Mike we knew we had to take the trip.

When I was a kid there was a little taco shop, tucked under a freeway overpass, selling three little tacos for a buck. It was called Al's Rico Tacos. I used to walk there with my friend Zach all the time and I remember it very fondly. Al's Rico opened a second location quite a few years ago on the corner of Marks and Ashlan in a little drive thru/walk up shack in the parking lot of a strip mall. They sell two tacos for $1.25 and plan ahead as there is almost always a constant line of cars waiting at the drive thru.

A few months ago, a new taco shack opened right across the street. It was identical in size, yet was painted bright pink and sold two tacos for a slightly higher price of $1.50. Who would do this? Who would set up an identical business right across the street from a legend like Al's Rico? They called themselves Lola’s Rico Taco and these people had balls. Would the comida back up the cojones? Bo and I were about to find out in our first ever FOOD CHALLENGE.