Dine and Dish: CDT Cocina in Fresno's Tower District

Bright decor makes The CDT Cocina pop in Fresno's Tower District.

Everything from the masa for tamales to the corn tortillas is made fresh by hand.

Liz Sanchez-Aguilar believes that attention to detail makes her food stand out.

"I try to come up with a classic flavor, classic seasonings and maybe just put a little twist on it," she said.

The traditional carnitas taco is served over pickled purple cabbage.

The citrus-marinated chicken taco comes with cole slaw.

"So this cauliflower taco is a vegan taco," Sanchez-Aguilar said. "It's caulilower florets. We bread them, fry them, top them with a little habanero pesto."

Dishes are often paired with colorful, creative cocktails.

I could not get enough of the habanero pesto fries.

They're mixed with olive oil, pesto, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno and habanero chiles.

Homemade ranch takes it down a notch.

Lucero Ruiz prepped tamales for us.

"When she gets going, she does about 80-90 tamales an hour," Sanchez-Aguilar said.

Everything is so different that you really have to try all of them to make sure you get the one you like.

"Our most popular seasonable margarita that we make is fresh watermelon," Sanchez-Aguilar said. "It is watermelon season, so we puree that."

The fish bowl drink is popular with customers.

The name CDT Cocina is a nod to the business Liz ran for a decade -- Casa de Tamales.

The pandemic produced change.

"It really was a time of refreshing, re-branding," she said.

Grandma's recipes are the basis of the menu.

Visit the Dine and Dish interactive map to find this location and all previously featured restaurants!

For news updates, follow Dale Yurong on Facebook and Twitter .