Fresno Famous

Here's some stuff that we've been up to/are following/thinking about.

Beards (and moustaches): Yesterday, the Blogfather and I hit up the Fresno Fair for the first-ever Fresno Facial Hair Face-Off. Have to say, I was pretty impressed with what I saw. There were close to a dozen contestants including more than a few from the Fresno Beard and Moustache Club. Every one brought it. Charles Diffey took home the big prize with a Santa inspired beard/moustache combo. My beard was woefully inadequate in that crowd. There are tons of cool pictures here.

Luby's (R.I.P.): Noooooooooo! That was me when I first read that Luby was closing. Luby (the guy, not the restaurant) was a bit like the soup Nazi from "Seinfeld," had a habit of calling people fat and whatnot and kept blown up pictures of bounced checks on his front windows like a wall of shame. But none of that mattered because his food was so f'in delicious. Anyone who ever doubted the taste profile of vegetarian food would be quickly converted. Seriously, veggie king pao chicken to die for. The place was a bit out off my radar since it moved out north (to Willow and Nees avenues), but I still managed at least one takeout trip each month. Of all the restaurants that have come and gone, this is the one I will miss. 

Fulton Mall: After years of back and forth, there might actually be some movement on the Fulton Mall. On Tuesday, the board of directors of PBID Partners of Downtown Fresno (what used to be the DTA) voted to endorse two recommendations for the malll, neither of which would keep itl as is. Meaning: They want traffic. Well, they want the street open to traffic anyway. While I'm not too keen on the idea of ripping up a unqiue stretch of landscape and starting new (that's what got us in trouble in the first place), I appreciate that this came from the PBID, a group of people who actually have a stake in what happens on the mall. But we know this: If it comes to pass that the mall gets opened to traffic, it won't be without a fight.