Four years ago today I moved to Fresno.

It was June 1, 2002. I was not even a week out of college. All my things packed into a U-Haul, with a bunch of my Bay Area friends following along. We were amazed by the heat as we carried everything up to the second-floor apartment. We dumped everything into the living room, they took off and I was left to make sense of everything.

That was pretty much life, too. Trying to make sense of everything: Grown-up life, my career and my new home, Fresno.

It's odd to me to think that day was that long ago -- I still remember it vividly. I was thinking a lot about that day today as I drove to lunch at Chris Meat Market. It was kinda my own little anniversary ceremony.

I found it fitting, going to Chris'. I remember the first time I got tacos there. It was after midnight. I was a little sketchy on the place. The first thing I heard was a story about some guy getting shot there late at night. Nice. But I ate my taco and since then Chris' has been my favorite place in this town. It's the No. 1 place I always want to take people who come to visit me.

The more I think about it, the more Chris' Meat Market perfectly embodies my relationship with Fresno. Tell most people in town about the meat market and they'll give you a glare and say "Where? Why would you want to go there?" Yes, it's a sad fact, most people are scared of downtown Fresno.

You take them there, and they're still kinda sketchy. It's not the nicest place, you know -- especially to people who are used to something nicer and snazzier. The beef jerky and sausages hanging on the walls don't help. Lots of the people who make your food don't speak English and lots of my friends don't know what lengue is.

But Chris' grows on you. It's endearing. And when you finally get your taco, it's delicious. And you think, "Wow, I really shouldn't have judged this place without really getting a taste of it."

Four years later, that's pretty much how I feel about Fresno.

If you give Fresno a chance, if you put aside the stereotypes and explore what the place has to offer, you'll wow yourself with what you find. That's what I told my girlfriend, who lived in the Bay Area most of her life before moving here three months ago. That's what I tell my friends from other parts of the state, who roll their eyes at the prospect of Fresno.

Nowadays when I walk into Chris Meat Market I have the drill down. I can order in Spanish if I have to. I'm used the environment. And I love the place. I've probably been there to eat more than any other place in Fresno in the last four years. You could say it's my home away from home.

My other home? That's Fresno. And you know what, I'm proud of that.