There are certain places in Fresno that aren’t just restaurants. They’re institutions. Places entire families have been making part of their routine for generations (mine included). Sam’s Italian Deli on First and Clinton is exactly that kind of place, and if you haven’t been yet, it’s time to make a visit a priority!
Sam’s has been a Fresno staple since the late 1970s, and the origin story is one of my favorites. Sam and Angie opened what started as a neighborhood grocery store, with Sam running the market and Angie cooking hot meals for their employees on a hot plate in the back. According to their website, the smell coming from Angie’s cooking was so irresistible that customers started asking if they could buy her food too. It wasn’t long before the market evolved into the combination deli and Italian food haven it is today, built entirely on the back of Angie’s cooking and the kind of word-of-mouth that only truly great food can inspire.
My mom’s side of the…..