Good morning guys and Happy Saturday! I hope you all are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend! And if not and you’re bored, well.. might as well pass time by with my blog post! Hehe, gotchu! 😉 So today I’ve decided to honor Fresno with a blog. I mean, I have been focusing on LA restaurants and I want to let you know that I am EVERYWHERE! So why not give Central California some attention eh? Living in Fresno for 3 years for nursing school forced me to explore and discover whatever foodie places existed! There aren’t as many fine dining places in Fresno as LA, but there are some. After crucial scrutiny, I have finally concluded without a doubt that Cracked Pepper, Fresno, CA is the #1 fine dining restaurant in all of Fresno and Central California! Don’t feel discouraged already though.. this is NUMBER ONE for a reason! There are many special things about this place that I love and would actually come back to eat!
complimentary sourdough bread and red pepper/tomato/garlic spread – THIS is one of the things they are FAMOUS for in Fresno: their delicious, top notch red pepper spread. It is in their restaurant name too! Their spread is made from scratch by THEM only. It is truly amazing! All of the ingredients in this spread are all healthy (bonus!) and as simple as it sounds, it is literally the BEST bread spread I have ever eaten! I shamelessly asked my waiter for more and more, and he kindly gave me extra bread and spread for takeout. And yes, I even ate it at home! I devoured it! The texture is creamy yet slightly, small-y crunchy from the red peppers and the tomato had the rich, succulent taste that is even up one from the most delicious cream of tomato soup I have ever tried. And no, it’s not spicy at all!
mala-insana napoleon – WHAT IS THIS? What does it look like to you? Care to venture a guess because I guarantee you will guess wrong.. IT IS EGGPLANT!!! Eww!! OMG! For those of you who know me well or have eaten with me, you KNOW I absolute HATE eggplant.. But… this.. was so good… I couldn’t even tell it was eggplant. I mean, LOOK AT IT! Does it look like eggplant to you?! Not even!!! Served on fresh greens, this eggplant napoleon was presented with marinara and cheese that was sandwiched in between two crispy eggplant parmesans. Absolutely delicious! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. This will be the only eggplant I ever eat. 😀
their seasonable halibut special served on a soft potato puree, sauteed Fresno greens and topped with cherry tomatoes and chopped asparagus.
papperdelle and sea scallops – This is another famous entree that everyone orders and craves about in Fresno. If you go here, you must order this; just like how you must ordered the eggplant napoleon. Looks simple yet super creamy and super saucy. JUST HOW I LOVE IT. Pasta with plenty of sauce? Yess, me please!! And this sauce isn’t too much either! I know, I know.. this picture makes it look like its just in a soup of sauce but it’s not! Deceiving ehh? 😉 The pasta was cooked perfectly! Soft yet not soggy at all with some teases of spinach hidden in there! This contrasted perfectly with the crispy, tender sea scallops topped on top! Oh boy, these were jumbo size! I still remember my knife slicing through the crispy exterior to give that ever so slightly soft crunch sound and into the soft, flaky, tender, moist insides of the sea scallops! Yummmm
bread pudding with a heaping load of their homemade extra-creamy whipped cream. Don’t ever order any other dessert when you go here. It is a sin! Because this bread pudding is the 4th item they are known for! Out of all the bread puddings I’ve tried in all of California, this one is still, by far, the best bread pudding I’ve ever had! Yes sir! Cookie does not lie! It is true 🙂 You can just taste the individual flavors and textures of the croissant and pudding and flaky breads. The whipped cream just tops it nicely. And you know what’s crazy too? So many Fresnoians even just come to the restaurant and order bread pudding as take-out, bring it back home for dessert after their homemade dinner meals! Yes, they do that! That’s how good it is!! Yup, I have heard of individual Fresnoians coming by, paying up $10 for a single serving of bread pudding to-go! mmMmm.
What is also special about this place is that so many people ask the waiters what is in the eggplant napoleon, red pepper spread, and some others that the chefs kindly put together recipes for some of these items. So when customers requested what was in it that makes it so good, the waiters are prepared with finely cracked recipes! (I was one of the people who asked too)!
Have I convinced any of you to drive to Fresno to try this place? Ha! Or if you ever are stuck in the Central Valley, give this place a fine try! You won’t regret it!
