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Fast-food and chain restaurants are omnipresent, but homegrown bistros and fine restaurants take advantage of the local produce and meats. Superb Mexican food abounds, and Chinese, Italian, Armenian, and Basque cuisines are amply represented.
Only two reasons to come here, but they're both delightful: frosty-glassed root-beer floats and drive-in service that transports patrons (by the view of carhops on roller skates alone) back to the 1950s of Modesto native and American Graffiti director George Lucas. It's a kick. The cheese curds and onion rings aren't bad either.
Aromatic pan-Asian spices, healthful ingredients, and inventive cocktails have made this arts-district eatery a local fave. Chef Preeda Piamfa, who hails from Thailand's east coast, focuses on Thai cuisine, including traditional curries, soups, and noodles (try the drunken noodles with duck), but he also prepares dishes from Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. Preeda even puts an Asian twist on American standards. Case in point: the citrus-marinated rib-eye steak, served with carrot fried rice and steamed vegetables and topped with tamarind sauce.
Hash browns, grilled-cheese sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, and similar fare are served at this downtown breakfast and lunch joint. The outdoor tables are nice in the morning provided the weather is, too, which (other than wintertime) is likely.
Mexican-American families, farmworkers, and farmers all eat here, polishing off traditional Mexican dishes such as posole, menudo, enchiladas, and tacos. The Fiesta Special—for two or more—includes generous portions of grilled pork tenderloin, beef top sirloin, chorizo, chicken breast, quesadillas, onions, and deep-fried jalapeños.
For northern Italian cuisine in a no-frills trattoria, this is the spot. Try the braised lamb shanks in a Chianti wine sauce, grilled rib eye with chef's seasonal sauce, or the filet mignon with shrimp, roasted pepper, and onions in a demiglaze sauce. To drift back to old Italy—or 1950s Kernville, perhaps—sample the spaghetti and meatballs.
A casual downtown café and bakery, the Lunch Box serves healthful meals at reasonable prices. Choose from nearly 50 types of hot and cold sandwiches and wraps, more than 20 different salads, and soups such as chicken noodle and Tuscan tomato. Tandoori-seasoned salmon fillet and chicken verde enchiladas are typical daily specials. This is good place for a quick bite or to pick up picnic items before or after a visit to Sequoia National Park.
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