Ride 'em Cowboy

Fresno's brands Western charm on a dusty, mega-chain prairie

Tucker Hottes

Fresno's Southwest Bar and Restaurant sits on Route 6 among the hoards of big-box restaurant chains like Friday's and Olive Garden. Sure, the place isn't exactly a mom-'n'-pop joint, but it's the southernmost of a handful of locations, the other three located in New York State. Inside and out, it has that cowboy/Western feel expected of any similar place worth its margarita salt - complete with requisite bleached steer skulls and hanging spurs.

After passing through a spacious entry and waiting room, a sizeable bar area on the right (featuring billiards, darts, and a stocked e-jukebox) is separate from a two-tiered dining room. The most striking feature of the restaurant, though, is the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows that lines the rear of the entire building. The view is, to put it mildly, spectacular - it's easy to make out features of the entire valley all the way east past Scranton, and at night thousands of lights pinpoint the landscape. It would be really easy to forget about northern Dickson City's traffic-y commercial sprawl, but blame Commerce Boulevard for the unsightly bubble-wrap-looking plops at the bottom of the view. Bar patrons get the most un-obscured look outside, so it's worth a stop in and a chat with the friendly bartenders.

The substantial menu has typical Southwest favorites like tacos and quesadillas, and Fresno's touts its fajitas as a specialty. Appetizers are fairly standard, but the Southwest Egg Rolls ($6.99) caught our eye on a relaxed Tuesday evening. Smoked chicken, Monterey Jack, beans, corn, peppers, and spinach are wrapped in a shell and fried. They had a nice combo of flavor and texture, and the portion was generous enough for two people to box and take some leftovers. Highly recommended as something to pick on at the bar, as a lunch entree or - as intended - an appetizer.

For main entrees, we had a chance on two separate evenings to try the Fajita Steak Caesar ($7.59) and Buffalo Chicken ($7.79) salads, as well as the more heavy-duty Chicken Fajita (smothered with jack cheese, bacon, and mushrooms - $11.88 total) and Rotisserie Chicken Dinner ($8.59). All the entrees were more than big enough to bring home leftovers, and the quality was great. The salads had a nice blend of fresh greens and cheese topped with generous helpings of steak and chicken.

There wasn't anything particularly shocking about the smothered chicken fajita, but the chicken was prepared in a tasty marinade and complement of sizzling onions and peppers. The added bacon, jack cheese, and sauteed mushrooms were worth the $1.29 upgrade, though it probably contributed to the size box I wound up taking home. The rotisserie chicken was piping hot; a comfort-food entree that tasted like mom's Sunday dinner. The biscuit came out a few minutes after the entree, apparently from being cooked special. It was flaky and delivered on a plate of its own like a Pillsbury commercial, thankfully without the creepy talking doughboy. The accompanying side of fries was, well, a side of fries.

Though we boxed worthy portions for later, we still soldiered on and ordered some of the fried ice cream (vanilla ice cream covered in crispy stuff and deep-fried, topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, for the un-initiated). It was a ridiculous indulgence following the huge meal, but after a couple of the "Cadillac" top-shelf margaritas, it seemed like a good idea. By the time dessert came out, we were ready to switch from the margaritas to flavorful fresh-ground coffee.

All the service was prompt and friendly, and the bartenders actually alternated to make sure we had fresh drinks and placed our food orders more quickly. Conversation was enjoyable (but not intrusive) with the bar and wait staff, and we were happy that the server-recommended Southwest Egg Rolls lived up to the hype.

Fresno's gives a friendly neighborhood restaurant vibe in the land of big restaurant chains, and it makes a worthwhile stop for a good meal or a few drinks. If nothing else, it's absolutely worth the trip for the panoramic view and the reminder that there's more to Dickson City than Wal-Mart and the Viewmont Mall.