I want to be upfront with you about something before we dive in to this latest blog in my Lunch Spots series – every installment of this series features a Fresno lunch spot that has stood the test of time and earned its place in this city’s food scene, but this one is personal. This one is my all-time favorite. My family goes to El Premio Mayor on average once a week, and has for years, and I am not even close to tired of it.
El Premio Mayor, which translates from Spanish to English as “the top prize” or “jackpot”, is Fresno’s premier destination for authentic and flavorful Mexican street tacos, and the name could not be more fitting. Their tacos have won Best Tacos at the Fresno Taco Throwdown multiple years in a row, in both the judge and people’s choice categories. That’s not a fluke. That’s consistency. That’s excellence. That’s what happens when someone puts their whole heart into their food for three decades.
Founder and single mother Belen Melendrez Ramirez started El Premio Mayor in 1996 as a taco trailer, powered by an extension cord plugged into her apartment. Let that sink in for a moment. From a single extension cord and an extraordinary amount of grit and talent, Belen built what is now three brick and mortar locations across Fresno, all of which remain open and thriving today.
The original location sits on McKinley just east of First Street. The second is on the southwest corner of Maroa and Shields. And the newest, which recently opened in a former Popeye’s, is right near the original on the southeast corner of McKinley and First. Each location has its own hours, so it’s worth checking before you go, but between the three of them you have plenty of options throughout the week…