downtown fresno blog

Posted by DFP Staff

Gosh the office is quiet today.  Everyone was urged to take a day off because we’d worked all weekend for Fiestas Patrias, so a few of us opted to extend the weekend by taking Friday off.  The rest of us had already taken our day and have been playing catch-up all week to compensate for the short week and we’ve barely even had office chatter at all today.

Luckily, the restaurant we had lined up for ROW this week was Downtown Bistro, probably the most “in a hurry, gotta work from my desk” place in all of downtown.

We checked out the specials on the board outside and got super excited about the addition of more Mediterranean favorites, then went inside to order.  Downtown Bistro is in a small space, but they have ample seating inside and even a few tables outside if you’re into dining al fresco.  (Fun fact, while typing al fresco, habit forced out al Fresno.  But you know what, we love dining al Fresno, too.  Viva local!)  One of the greatest things about their menu is that most items are really quickly prepared or already boxed up and ready to go.  This is truly the best place if you’re in a hurry but want something fresh and fancy.

Mitch decided to take the Mediterranean fare route and ordered dolma and rice pilaf to take back to his desk.  We like how mono-chromatic it all is.  Mitch liked how tasty it was.

Cole grabbed a Cranberry Almond Crunch salad.  This chicken salad is a perfect example of fancy, fresh food that’s quick to grab.  She also ordered the mutable, an eggplant dip.  Very flavorful!

Gretchen was concerned that her desk posed a health and safety risk if she were to eat at it, so she commandeered Rocio’s desk in her absence and ate safely away from the stacks of paperwork.  This might just be the cutest picture ever taken of a person enjoying lentil soup with a fork. In her words: “OMG – this lentil soup from Downtown Bistro is awesome! #HitsTheSpot! #DelishNutrish”

…and this just might be the scariest photo ever taken of a person with yalanchi in hand.

So that you can focus on the food with out all of that noise, Kim’s yalanchi (stuffed grape leaves) and insanely delicious hummus with pita bread.  She’s counting her quarters right now to see if she has enough to go back for more.  This is an excellent afternoon snack that won’t break the bank- only $2.50 buys you the tub of hummus (or mutable, like Cole had) and pita bread to dip in it.

We were really pleased with our trip to Downtown Bistro.  Quick, fresh and flavorful.  Take our advice- next time you’ll be chained to your desk through lunch take a quick walk to Downtown Bistro to add some zing! to your workday!

Downtown Bistro is located on the corner of Kern and L streets.