The first chance you get today, if you’re on the East side of the SJ Valley, find a spot to take a look at the mountains. You won’t be disappointed. 🗻🏔️
I’m advising you to take a moment and look at the mountains today
Someone Placed a Marker For the Shortest Trail In Fresno County and I Love It!
I tend to walk along Van Ness in Old Fig. I like staying in the dirt as much as possible. It gives me a sense that I am on an actual trail in the Sierra (probably weird like that). I think someone else feels that same way, as there is a trail marker on the spot that feels most like a real trail along all of Van Ness:
This is on the 3500 block of Van Ness (yes, Christmas Tree Lane).
See you out on the trails!
Yep. We’re Going To Have Two Soccer Teams With No Stadium, Aren’t We?!
- A new soccer stadium at the Fresno Bee.
- The closing of Benediction.
- The trouble of dealing with Fresno infrastructure.
- Band of the Episode: Daze Baby “Goliath”.
- Horn BBQ and new Fresno businesses.
- And more!
EDITORS’ NOTE: We are very sorry for the sometimes choppy connection!! We are working to make this better for next month. Sorry again.
Hosted by Joshua Tehee and Mike Seay.
Josh at the Fresno Bee.
Josh’s local music newsletter: Bandgeeeek.substack.com.
Josh’s bands: New Old Man, It’ll Grow Back, Big Balls, and the Strikingly Originals.
Mike’s newsletters: Fresno! Fresno! and Drinking & Thinking.
Mike’s blogs The Fresnan, The Tape Player.
Plus the podcasts Get Off My Podcast, The Perfect Pour.
Laucks Bakery Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe, Who Has It?
I don’t mean to age myself too much here, but I am old enough to remember having the peanut butter cookies from Laucks Bakery in the Tower District. It is one of my first food memories. And they were so good.
No peanut butter cookie has measured up to it. My Mom’s are the closest and are delicious. But the Laucks used to really hit.
I am seeking comfort lately, and a peanut butter cookie that tastes like a Laucks cookie would really fill a hole right now.
So who has the recipe? What’s the fucking secret?
Nobody wants to post the recipe (at least I can’t find where), as if this needs to be kept secret anymore.
This has also put me on a quest to find the best peanut butter cookie in Fresno. Maybe the smallest quest ever, but it’s still a quest. If you have some thoughts on this, tell me where to go.
Read MoreWhat has given me Fresno Comfort this past year
Fresno provided comfort food and place-comfort this year in a difficult time.
Fresno comfort food respect list for 2025
- Me & Ed’s pizza. Pepperoni, diced pepperoni, pepperoni & canned mushrooms, all did the trick. Every. Single. Time.
- Tacos. Street tacos to be precise. Although one messed me up (internally, we’ll say), and I have not gotten back on the taco horse since.
- Whole Foods Salad Bar. One of the few salad bar options in town anymore. There is an art to keeping your salad build as light as possible (aka keeping it cheap as possible) while still making it something you enjoy eating.
- Berrock Shop. Mostly the chili. A lot of chili.
- Mad Duck – Northwest. Cheers to the Tuesday all-day happy hour.
- Breakfast burritos from anywhere.
Area places gave me comfort, too:
- Out Of The Barrel (beer bar in Fig Garden)
- Every trail I went on in Yosemite.
- Zumwalt Meadow Trail in Kings Canyon NP.
- Gazebo Gardens.
- Walks down Van Ness.
- Sequoia Brewing returning.
- Walks around the San Joaquin River.
- Sitting on a patio anywhere.
This was an awful year for me, I’ll just say it, with the breakup of my marriage and other things as well. But what has come with that is a focused appreciation of when things are good. And of the good little moments that happen even when things are bad.
Just like Fresno, I will keep grinding for sunny times. Hope you will this year too.
Thanks for reading!
-Mikey
Popolo’s Pizza in Madera Ranchos
A quick review of the new Popolo’s Pizza in the Madera Ranchos.
In case you missed it. Popolo’s had to move from Herndon & Blackstone long ago (not to mention the Shaw & Marks location) to Palm & Nees. They recently closed that location. But they have reopened in the Madera Ranchos.
Tucked way back in a kind of strip mall you would only find in the Ranchos. It’s at 37272 Avenue 12, in the heart of the Rancho business strip, behind the Sinclair gas station.
RUNDOWN OF MADERA RANCHOS POPOLO’S
The space is much smaller than any of their previous spots. And it’s a quick-serve, order-at-the-counter style, now, which isn’t terrible, really.
The food tastes the same. Signature dough and dishes mostly remain. Pizza is still great.
One glaring food difference is… no salad bar. Sadness. The Herndon & Blackstone salad bar was legend. Palm & Nees was ok. No salad bar in the Ranchos.
I get it, though, if they put in a salad bar, they would have to take out two tables. And they need all the tables they can get there. They still have salads and will make one how you want it, and that’s cool. But it’s a bummer the salad bar is gone.
There is also no video game room like previous iterations. There is one standup, though, with multiple games, so there is at least something. It might be nice to find a space for one skill/prize game, as a better nod to the old games.
Also, something I feel they could do is find at least ONE booth (if not more) that is like one of the booths back at the Blackstone location. You could fit a few smaller ones in that space, and it would be rad. I hope that is something they figured out in the future.
WHAT ABOUT THE BEER!?
They still have it! The old Popolo’s was one of Fresno’s leaders in getting Craft Beer on draught, an early adopter. They still have some of it, nothing major, but enough basics for you if you want a decent beer with your pizza.
So, if you are missing Popolo’s food, the drive out to the Ranchos is worth it – even without a booth or salad bar.