Category: California

The Problem With The New Costco Site Is Only Everything

The Fresnan
ED176ACF-3FFB-4D1D-84C5-E5E0499C48E5 The Problem With The New Costco Site Is Only Everything
Likely Future Site of Fresno’s Newest Costco

Costco wants to move its West Shaw location to a currently vacant field at Herndon & Riverside. And they want to manipulate Herndon to do it. It seems the West Shaw location is too small for them.

Oh and in case you are still a little foggy on where Riverside Drive and Herndon is at:

42688019-3355-42CD-82C6-36A562C1B40A The Problem With The New Costco Site Is Only Everything
It will have great views of the Olive Garden

If it’s THAT big of a problem for them on West Shaw. If it needs so much space. If we need to move and change things. Then, well, maybe it shouldn’t exist at all?

Or at least take the vacant old Super Walmart space just to the East of the current Costco Shaw location, if you ACTUALLY simply need more space.

I respect that Costco (has the reputation amongst the industry at least) of treating their employees better than most of the grocery and retail industry does. Many consider Costco a more ethical company than the Wal-Marts & Targets.

If that’s true, cool. But this is where my like of Costco ends.

Things That Suck About Costco [Old Man Rant Alert!]

63FDD674-46B8-45FC-88CB-2FA5A4037A83 The Problem With The New Costco Site Is Only Everything
  • It’s too damn big. All of it. The store and items.
  • They sell a whole buncha of junk. Junk that I shouldn’t nobody should buy.
  • The fucking parking. Both the NE Fresno location and West Shaw suuuuuck to get in & out of – they should be on this list. And yes, part of the reason they want to leave West Shaw is the bad parking but you know damn well the new place will end up being a shitty lot too.
  • They charge you annually for the privilege of shopping there (sucker).
  • Too many different things happening; poultry, books, TVs, optometrist, a giant bag of iceberg lettuce, all under one roof. It’s unsettling.
  • Lines. Long lines to wait in to give them your money.
  • Buying in bulk isn’t always the best value.

And another thing, shouldn’t we be focusing on vacant locations in Fresno becoming residential or a park anyway? There are very few largish open spaces left in the city and the immediate thought is “Hey, let’s get a Costco in there!”

Oh and hey, like, aren’t big box stores on their way out? Amazon killing all the retail and stuff? And if not, won’t Costco come along one day and find that the new Herndon spot is also too small for them?

Let’s not forget what that area, including the small community of Herndon, has had to endure

The traffic is already a mess. I know, I go through there at least twice a day on my commute. Add a Costco with its gas station and then probably a little strip mall with a check cashing place next to a liquor store and a Subway, and it will be a disaster.

That doesn’t even include the many-times-a-day a Union Pacific freight train comes through. And when it does it backs up traffic for three light cycles and that’s with NOTHING currently in the lot that Costco wants to use.

Plus, it would be a waste for a city run golf course, Riverside, to have their third hole looking at the back of a Costco warehouse (with dumpsters and idling 18-wheelers), instead of housing or a green space.

I imagine the city will push it through because taxes or whatever. Not sure how to stop it. Just let the record show I said the new Costco on Herndon will be trash.

Fresno: California’s Base Camp

The Fresnan
C6BDDD8F-E38F-4B82-8516-D586CB9870DF Fresno: California’s Base Camp
Yosemite Valley Pic by @markian.b on Instagram

People can shit on this and I get it, you shouldn’t brag about things not technically in your city, but hey man: it’s pretty fucking cool we can get to everything rad in California by lunch time.

  • Tahoe
  • Yosemite
  • San Diego
  • Your Mom’s
  • Monterey
  • Las Vegas (ok it’s Nevada, but still)
  • San Francisco
  • Disneyland
  • Shasta (a late lunch)
  • Russian River Brewery

ALL BY LUNCH!!

1C97256F-FC5E-412E-A25C-7D9BBC5FCA6C Fresno: California’s Base Camp
Zachary’s Deep Dish Pic by @restaurantgroupie on Instagram

I can go have a pizza at Zachary’s in Berkeley right now, FUCKING WATCH ME.

Then go have some beers at Faction and look at this view:

F36DCC5B-CCED-45E2-AF86-A37E55CF54D4 Fresno: California’s Base Camp

Then have some sucker drive my buzzed-ass back home for tacos in downtown Fresno, LIKE. A. KING!

AE2C9DD4-D608-4F84-9943-E9C56A44CB75 Fresno: California’s Base Camp

Can Austin say that? Fucking Kansas City? Chicago? Atlanta? Boston? Pittsburgh? Either of the Portlands?

NO! They cant say these things! Cities don’t talk.

But if they could? Well, they would say “I wish I was where Fresno is.”

Earthquake Near Fresno Is No Fault Of Our Own

The Fresnan
D8A4F9D5-0FFD-40F9-A769-099041866CDB Earthquake Near Fresno Is No Fault Of Our Own
Fault lines in Central California

Above is a map of all the fault lines in the Central Valley. With the exception of the extreme South Valley, there are no faults on the valley floor.

Yeah? Then how did THIS happen, bro!?

D9F094AB-240D-4697-B585-1E2885969F5A Earthquake Near Fresno Is No Fault Of Our Own
Earthquake outside Lemoore Tuesday night

Sure that is a tiny earthquake. Maybeeee somebody around Lemoore or Hanford felt it, if they were really paying attention, but that’s about it.

How does this happen with no fault lines?

Fracking? Is anyone out there fracking around on the Valley Floor? I don’t know. Maybe.

Even science is not all that sure how this can happen, but there is one explanation:

Earthquakes occurring away from tectonic plate boundaries can be triggered by the rise and fall of hot material through the Earth’s mantle

Woah. “Hot material” eh? We talkin’ magma? Magma? Fun to say it isn’t it? MAG-ma. Come on say it with me, “MAGma”.

Yeah so maybe there is some ancient volcano under the valley floor and stuff. Not to alarm anyone or anything.

Since this quake happened almost directly below Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, I prefer to think it was somebody’s sick drop-in.

Oh since we’re talking about the Surf Ranch, the world famous You Tuber, Casey Neistat, visited the place recently and gave a nice account of what it’s like to get a chance to surf there:

?

Fresno On Lockdown

The Fresnan

So this is life now, eh? Battling Fresnans at Save Mart (or for you crazy people, Costco) for bread.

Actually, I have been surprised by how nice everyone has been out there in Fresno. I guess when you go through a shared experience like this, people get nicer.

As a homebody, an introverted and awkward person, that has to push and motivate themselves to even meet up with friends that I want to be around, you would think this new world of being socially distant, not meeting up with people and staying away from groups, would be kinda awesome.

Honestly, for me, it sort of is.

WAIT WAIT, don’t hate me. If everyone else’s life was the same; healthy, their business was untouched, jobs secure, THEN this would be the life I dream of.

Stay at home with my family? Play video games? Wander around my backyard, look up at the clouds, write, binge Star Wars content, develop a playlist on Spotify, trick-out my patio? Do all the things I always want to do but never make the time for? Yes, I’m here for that content.

All while feeling like I’m “doing good” (even if I don’t actually do any of those things and put them off like I always do).

Feeling good about myself instead of my normal feeling of dread and guilt that I’m not meeting friends for a thing, or going Downtown for ArtHop or an event, or going to get my tires rotated or some crap thing that I beat myself up for not doing ALL THE FUCKING TIME.

*deep breath*

Getting takeout now feels… good? As long as places stay up and running.

I hope everyone can weather this. The number of businesses that are affected are too many to count. It’s not just the food-related industry. But what the hell am I talking about here, you don’t need me to tell you this.

img_6238 Fresno On Lockdown

Most of the places I use for beer have delivery or pickup now. I used Pine & Palm’s “drive-thru” service this week and picked up some crowlers. I’ll be trying out Tioga’s delivery service this weekend. Hopefully, Zack’s Brewing will be able to do the same soon. Most of my craft beer places are at least setting up pickup options. I plan on taking full advantage.

Here are tips on how to keep it clean and still get local takeout.

This is all we can do, right? Takeout and tip higher than normal. Save up money to hella support when we are on the other side of this. No matter if it’s a food-related business or not.

I am fortunate to have a job that is not affected by this (income-wise), at least not yet. Unfortunate that I still have to go out and do it. Props to all my new brothers and sisters in the Essential Services Industry.

Staying at home sounds better than ever, but even I will be glad to be amongst groups of Fresnans again, someday… on occasion.

For now, all we can do is support the places we use (in the safest way we can) and hope they will be there when this is over. Keep your head up gaze at the clouds and stay safe, Fresno.

-Mikey

Best Mexican Food Breakfasts In Fresno

The Fresnan
Country-Fare-Cafe-Fresno Best Mexican Food Breakfasts In Fresno

Fresno breakfast places can get pretty damn busy, time to expand the options. So I asked Fresno Twitter to fill in a gap in my knowledge. Hopefully, this helps you too.

I trust my Fresno Twitter folks on this. Much more than Yelp and Google anyway.

Let’s begin with the multiple vote winners. Some have a quick item reco from voters, some don’t. This is nothing definitive, just a helpful guide from Fresnans that know the best Mexican food breakfast in Fresno:

Top Four Recommends:

  • TOLEDITO’S (1704 Van Ness Ave). The breakfast burritos and Spanish omelet especially.
  • ZAMORA (850 N. Fresno St). Homemade tortillas and great chilaquiles.
  • CASTILLO’S (3659 E.Ventura). I dunno, everything?
  • LAS MANANITAS (1329 S. Hazelwood Blvd). Amazing owners. Good chilaquiles.

Next Tier Of Recos:

https://twitter.com/iloveamsss/status/1213336311764963329?s=20

Other Fresno spots folks felt needed mentioning. Might be just as good as any of the above spots, just happened to be not mentioned as much:

Mi Amigo. That’s a lot of places to check out. Well done, Fresno Twitter.

A dumb guy thought: What is Chilaquiles?

Zamoras-Chilaquiles-by-Amy-G Best Mexican Food Breakfasts In Fresno
Zamora’s chilaquiles – photo by Amy on Yelp.

I did not know this. Sorry, I suck. People kept bringing it up and my dumb ass is like “Should I know what the heck this is? I should, right? Do I eat this and not know what it’s even called?”

Chilaquiles is this:

Chilaquiles (pronounced “chee-lah-KEE-lays”) is a traditional dish found throughout Mexico. At its most basic, chilaquiles consists of fried tortilla strips simmered in red or green salsa or mole to soften the strips. This dish is great for using up leftovers because stale (or store-bought) tortillas can be used. It’s often served with a side of refried beans.

TripSavvy.com

Ok cool. Now my dumbass knows. Good for hangovers? I like that.

21234-1809388 Best Mexican Food Breakfasts In Fresno21234 Best Mexican Food Breakfasts In Fresno

Yelp Reviews To Be Taken With Many Grains Of Salt

Just something I noticed, I don’t know if this is true, but it seems that if you go by what Yelp says, Castillo’s is the place that people from out-of-town think is the best “locals” Mexican breakfast spot to check out. Not sure if some food show came through town once and told them or if this is actually the case.

Anyway, glad to have this list now that you and I can come back to reference when looking for a good Mexican food breakfast in Fresno.

We have a lot of eating to do. Time to get out there and start trying some dishes of chilaquiles!

Joe Rogan Called Fresno Sketchy. Why Didn’t It Go As Crazy As the ‘Firestone Flap’?

The Fresnan

You saw last week or more when Joe Rogan gushed about Chef Paul’s and called Fresno Sketchy, right? A bro in L.A. wanted to make sure we knew:

https://twitter.com/WorstBeerBlog/status/1195388465044549632

Fresnans did, in fact, ‘cancel Joe’ if getting upset is canceling. But Rogan did not respond to anything on Twitter or wherever else, because he is JOE FUCKING ROGAN! Why would he? And he’s a comedian MMA guy turned huge podcaster, who cares?

So there was nobody fighting, impossible for it to go viral. But who really totally knows why things go freaking viral!? It’s a bunch of little things, IMO.

Speaking of a bunch of little things turning into something…

Why did Fresno get so mad at Firestone Walker Brewing?

The Firestone Walker fight (the ‘Firestone Flap’ as I like to call it and nobody else cares enough to call it that and be nerdy like me, and that’s ok [sadness]) blew up so big, bigger than Joe Rogan’s brief backhanded compliment to a Fresno restaurant, because….

BACKSTORY TIME!:

Fresno is drowning in Firestone beer. It’s everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

Hell, it’s bigger than White Claw and has been for years.

Any damn place in Fresno that might even THINK of having craft beer, has Firestone. Fresno and the 559 are almost forced to spend a lot of money on 805, Luponic Distortion 1 thru infinity, and whatever mixed-pack is taking up an end or a full island, at Save Mart.

I do not have the stats but I would guess that half the tanks in Paso are paid for with 559 money. We might even drink more Firestone Walker beer than people living in the 805.

Now, add to this, we have always suspected the Central Coast does not like us Central Valley folks. Every once in awhile there will be a racist or pretentious comment lobbed our way from the coast. Sometimes we ignore it sometimes we don’t.

So that’s just a LITTLE bit of our Paso Robles history.

Cut to a lazy Sunday morning in Fresno. Fresno Twitter is relaxing, fat and happy from a John Legend visit, and a subsequent positive Fresno Tweet, enjoying breakfast burritos & coffee, scrolling Twitter and the webs and such.

Then it happened. 

first-tweet Joe Rogan Called Fresno Sketchy. Why Didn't It Go As Crazy As the 'Firestone Flap'?

Someone responds to John Legend’s Tweet with a negative Fresno bash. Who cares, right!?!

Except, the person bashing Fresno works at Firestone Walker. The person lives in Paso (How is that better than being from Fresno?). And, most importantly, this person is the Communications Manager for Firestone Walker Brewing.

Don’t they know? Don’t they know Fresno loves Firestone? Don’t they know how much beer we buy from them? Don’t they talk about us? Don’t they respect us at all? Don’t they think we’re super cool!? Don’t they know their restaurant/taproom is our first stop on our way to a fun and relaxing coastal weekend!?

All this love and money Fresno gives and it turns out Paso Robles thinks we’re a shithole and is not even classy enough to NOT say it publicly.?!?

Read More