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best of the valley restaurants awards

Nominees have been unveiled for the 2024 Best of the Valley Restaurant Awards presented by the California Restaurant Association Fresno chapter. File photo

published on March 5, 2020 - 2:07 PM
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Local eateries had a moment in the spotlight Monday with the Best of the Valley Restaurant Awards in Fresno.

Presented by the California Restaurant Association, it was the 29th annual event celebrating the Central Valley’s best dining destinations in dozens of categories.

The awards are meant to highlight “the creativity and talent in culinary arts practiced in the Valley every day.” They are voted on by fellow restaurant owners who are members of the Fresno chapter of the California Restaurant Association.

The program also features a Lifetime Achievement Award that this year went to David Borunda, a longtime Fresno restaurateur who operated the two Plaza Ventana Mexican Restaurants.

A business graduate of Fresno City College, Borunda found success as a salesperson and real estate investor in the 1960s. He followed childhood advice from his father and decided to go into business for himself with the purchase of the Plaza Mexican Restaurant in 1977, located at First and Shields avenues in Fresno.

For the first five years in the business, David and his wife Maria worked non-stop seven days a week, doing everything from cooking to cleaning. They expanded the restaurant into the Manchester Center food court in 1981, followed by the Fashion Fair Mall food court three years later. In that time they also opened two Plaza Fast Food locations in Fresno. Ownership of Caliente Wood Fired Grill from 1996-98 brought them into the South Valley market.

The Borundas opened Plaza Ventana Mexican Restaurant on West Shaw Avenue in Fresno in 1991, featuring upscale dishes served by staff in white jackets, black pants and bow ties. The menu included items that were new to Fresno diners, including black beans and blue corn enchiladas inspired by David’s mother’s cooking.

Based on the success of Plaza Ventana, David closed his food court locations as well as the First and Shields location, opening another Plaza Ventana at Blackstone and Shaw avenues in 2002. He operated two successful Plaza Ventana restaurants for 16 years before closing them in 2018 and 2019 and retiring.

He was known for his gracious service to countless restaurant guests and served as a mentor to the many young people who worked in his restaurants.

“I am in the human development business,” Borunda used to say, when asked about being in the restaurant business.

Here’s a list of the Best of the Valley Award winners by category, along with the nominees:

Best Fast Food
Winner: Chick-fil-A
The Habit Burger Grill
Taco Bell
Wendy’s

Best Fast Casual
Winner: Heirloom
Teriyaki Don
Pieology
Chipotle Mexican Grill

Best Family Dining
Winner: Pismo’s Coastal Grill
Yosemite Falls Café
Sal’s Mexican Restaurant
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar

Best Fine Dining
Winner: The Annex Kitchen
13 Prime Steak
Trelio
Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Best Sports Bar
Winner: The Mad Duck Neighborhood Grill & Taphouse
PressBox Sports Grill
Yardhouse
Buffalo Wild Wings

Best Breakfast
Winner: Benaddiction
Batter Up Pancakes
Fresno Breakfast House
Huckleberry’s

Best Pizza
Winner: Mike’s Pizzeria Lounge
More Than Pizza
Round Table Pizza
BC’s Pizza & Beer

Best Seafood/Sushi
Winner: Wassabi
Red Lobster
Yoshino Japanese Restaurant
Sakura Chaya Tokyo Cuisine

Best Steak
Winner: Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
13 Prime Steak
Yosemite Ranch

Best Burger
Winner: Eureka!
Colorado Grill
In-N-Out
The Habit Burger Grill

Best Food Truck
Winner: Quesadilla Gorilla
Maria’s Tacos
559 Street Tacos
Roma’s Italian Street Cuisine

Best On-Site Banquet Dining
Winner: Pardini’s Catering & Banquets
Copper River Country Club
Fort Washington Country Club
Tornino’s Banquets

Best Off-Site Catering Services
Winner: The Painted Table
Love & Garlic
Paradise Catering
Classic Catering Co.

Best Hotel Dining
Winner: Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
Mochuelo at Hotel Piccadilly
Table Mountain Casino
Tachio Palace Casino Resort

Best Coffee
Winner: Dutch Bros
Starbucks
Hi-Top Coffee
The Revue

Best Bar Drinks
Winner: Elbow Room Bar & Grill
Tellawi Lounge
PressBox
Vino Grille & Spirits

Best Sandwich
Winner: Piemonte’s Italian Deli
Deli Delicious
Sourdough & Co.
Sequoia Sandwich Co.

Best BBQ
Winner: Westwoods
Mike’s Grill
Famous Dave’s
Maw n Paw BBQ

Best Desserts
Winner: Nothing Bundt Cakes
Eddie’s Bakery Café
La Boulangerie
Cheesecake Factory

Best Winery
Winner: Toca Madera Winery
CRU Winery
Solitary Cellars Wine Co.
San Joaquin Winery

Best Kept Secret
Winner: Mochuelo at Hotel Piccadilly
Colton’s Social House
Tellawi Lounge
Starving Artists Bistro

Beverage Supplier of the Year
Winner: Young’s Market Co.
PepsiCo
Valley Wide Beverage
Donaghy Sales

Best Asian
Winner: Sakura Chaya
Hino Oishi
Namikaze
KuniSama

Best Italian
Winner: Parma Ristorante
DiCicco’s
Andiamo Ristorante Italiano
Luna Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant

Best Mediterranean
Winner: The Phoenician Garden
George’s Bar & Grill
AJ’s Armenian Cuisine
Ark Mediterranean Grill

Best Mexican
Winner: Sal’s Mexican Restaurant
Toledo’s Mexican Restaurant
Casa Corona
Don Pepe Taqueria

Best Date Night
Winner: The Lime Lite
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Trelio Restaurant
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse

Friendly Faces
Winner: The Annex Kitchen
Colton’s Social House
Colorado Grill
Chick-fil-A

New to the Scene
Winner: Heirloom
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar
The Hangar
The Lincoln Pub & Grub

Supplier of the year
Winner: Sysco
US Foods
Valley Produce
Cresco-Resco

Chef of the Year
Winner: Jimmy Pardini — Annex Kitchen
Jen Van Fleet — Vino Grille & Spirits
Michael Vernon — Pismo’s
Vatche Moukhtarian — Cracked Pepper Bistro

Restaurateur of the year
Winner: Brandon Smittcamp, Kevin and Rema Koligian, and Justin Shannon — Heirloom/ Butterfish
Jim Souza — Colton’s Social House
Dave Fansler — Yosemite Ranch/ Pismo’s/ Westwood’s
Chuck and Jen Van Fleet — Vino Grille & Spirits

People’s Choice Award
Winner: Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
Colton’s Social House
The Annex Kitchen
13 Prime Steak


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