valley farms hitching post, 36005 hwy 99, traver, ca, 93673

food: 4/5; price: $. if you're heading north on 99, stop off here. traver is north of visalia, about 5 miles south of kingsburg (30 miles south of fresno). driving along, you'll see plenty of signs letting you know valley farms is coming up. the one that always grabs my eye reads "date shakes." DATE SHAKES?!?! sccrrrrreeeeeeechhh!!
the hitching post restaurant is in the same low-slung barn that houses valley farms. the latter sells specialty nuts, candy, olives, sauces, dried fruits, souvenirs and the like, similar to casa de fruita near gilroy or charlie brown's in the high desert or many other places like that. these specialty items are a little on the high side, but you won't be disappointed cause it's all delicious. if you've got people visiting from out of state, here they'll find mementos that'll help them remember the san joaquin valley.
the eatery was open for once (we usually come thru too late in the evening), so we grabbed a bite. the decor is absolutely charming, nostalgic-friendly, with corny humorous signs blanketing the walls, 40s pin-up girls, old-fashioned beer & soda logos, down-home witticisms, etc. we sat up at the bar & were waited on by a large-framed fellow, handsome as a movie star, with charming mexican accent & friendly manner. the waitress, too, was mighty nice. the place was bustling with what my spouse called "farm folk" - it looked to be a popular spot with the locals.
the menu was large & through the swinging doors leading to & from the kitchen, we saw cook & wait-staff smiling, laughing, dishing up food. is this a family operation? i don't know, but no one looked disgruntled, which always helps my food go down smoother. overall, the vibe was positive, as our friend in santa cruz might say.
the restaurant is housed in an old-fashioned garage: the owners open & close two or three garage doors for business, so if you're not at the bar, you sit at wooden tables & look out on the orchards across the road while you eat & visit. a big sign announced happy hour & the setting is a great one for that, i'd think. i'm a teetotaler, but had romantic thoughts of sitting for lazy hours, getting a little lit in the golden afternoon while laughing with compadres & gazing out on the sleepy fields & highway...
our date shakes were scrumptious; we split a club sandwich. the bill was quite reasonable & we left happy.

prime cut meats & eats, 9500 brimhall, bakersfield ca 93312

food: 3/5; atmosphere: 4.5/5; price: $ 1/2. the prime cut has been in biz locally for decades, owned by a husband & wife team. recently, i got the inside scoop on the new location: the owners wanted to deck the place out like new orleans. yes!!!! i still think for all the restaurants we have in kern county, too few focus on atmosphere... i'll eat most anything & be happy if the digs feel fun, glamorous, exciting, relaxing, mysterious, etc... dining out, even if you don't drink & be merry, can be real entertainment, if the place is done up right - you can nearly feel like you've traveled someplace special. however, most often when i go out to eat locally, the most interesting sites are tv sports, beer signs, cornball signs & the like. there's gotta be more.
the new prime cut is working on it. my aunt kept saying, "they're gonna get better." i know the new location was rush-opened, & the place was quite busy when we ate there for lunch. i imagine the owners are plenty overwhelmed in their new location, which is 3 times larger than the old. i liked the atmosphere: walls made to look like an old barn with faded brick & distressed wood; nostalgic LPs & NOLA signs on the walls; parade beads; a big mirrored bar; and best of all, recorded zydeco & cajun blues music playing behind it all. the last time i heard beau jocques in a restaurant was in austin - this was nice!!! i put my two cents in, too: "if i had a restaurant, it'd be darker & there'd be more **** on the walls & lights, too - the kinda place you go in for a beer & come out nine hours later, feeling like you've been someplace." a restaurant's music choice can really make or break an eating experience for me - once i had to leave a steak house at the market place, which was blasting country pop music, the worst of the knee-jerk pablum, nearly losing rather than indulging my appetite... on the other hand, prime cut's music was on par with the lovely & exotic stuff you hear in mama roomba's - i'll be back just to wash in the sound of "laissez les bon ton roulet!" i learned, too, that the decorating is not quite finished, so i hope that when i return, there'll be more neat stuff to look at.
prime cut sells mostly meats - tri-tip, shredded beef & chicken, ribs, & the like. there's a butcher shop attached to the restaurant, but we didn't go in. i know prime cut's reputation precedes it - the local paper has used much ink to sing the praises of the "merv burger," for instance.
the sides offered at this point are small: chili beans, macaroni salad, fries. "they need to have more of them," my aunt commented. right now, the place seems to be split - atmospherically, it's going exotically southern (that is, louisiana-mixed rather than oildale), but culinarily, it seems aimed at the tailgate crowd. i believe the menu'd benefit from adding on sides: greens, corn bread, mac & cheese, yams - the tasty extras that make J's Southern and Phine's over-the-top delicious & special local eating experiences. i know the new prime cut already is leaning more toward the southern - jambalaya every day, etoufee & gumbo, too. i hope they continue to add on, so the food's not only good, the atmosphere special, but the food choices special, as well.
we went plain - hot tri-tip sandwich for my aunt, shredded chicken sandwich for me. the bread was homemade, but way too much for me. i was certain the menu said my sandwich, with chicken as soft as tuna, came with BBQ sauce, but i had to go ask for it. my aunt said her meat was delicious, but "needed something - it's too dry," so i got her sauce, too. i ordered cajun fries, but was told "we only have regular ones right now." i imagine these are all kinks that will be worked out. we were happy enough with our food, appreciated this was a brand new place trying to offer something different to the locals, & like i said, i'd come back, anyway, just to hear that music someplace other than at home coming out of my own stereo.