Jimboy's Tacos

Last updated
Jimboy's Tacos
TypePrivate
Industry Restaurants
Genre Fast food restaurant
Founded1954;68 years ago (1954)
Kings Beach, California
Headquarters,
Number of locations
40 plus (2022) [1]
Area served
United States
Website jimboystacos.com

Jimboy's Tacos is a fast food restaurant chain and franchise, serving Mexican-American cuisine.

Contents

The company was founded in 1954 by Jim and Margaret Knudsen, [2] [3] [4] and is headquartered in Folsom, California. [1]

Its signature dish is a Parmesan dusted taco filled with ground beef, cheese and lettuce. [4] In 2022, the company had over 40 locations in California, Nevada and Texas. [1]

Concept

The restaurant bills its signature dish as "The Original American Taco", and a company spokesperson said, "We don’t consider ourselves authentic Mexican food". [5]

The restaurant's signature dish is its Parmesan dusted taco, filled with ground beef, cheese and shredded lettuce. [6]

Other taco fillings include pork carnitas and a halved hamburger patty, called a taco burger. [7] Ingredients of the taco burger include "diced tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, shredded cheese — and a 'special sauce' that tasted like extra-tangy mayonnaise. [8]

Many Mexican restaurants in the Kansas City area also serve parmesan tacos, and it appears that the dish was developed independently in both locations. [9]

The restaurant also serves burritos with charred exteriors. [5] Most locations also serve craft beers. [1]

History

In 1949, Jim and Margaret Knudson visited a friend's home for dinner. They were served tacos for the first time, and having experience in the food business, Jim thought the taco would have universal appeal, and so he developed his own taco recipe. He added his recipe to the menu of his restaurant "Jimmy's 49er Cafe" located in Grass Valley, California. In the first few years, customers were not enthusiastic about trying the menu item, but it gradually gained popularity. [10]

In 1954, the two converted a 16-foot trailer into a mobile kitchen. [4] A frequent customer gave Jim the nickname, "Jimboy". This inspired the two to rename the restaurant, "Jimboy's Spanish Tacos". [10] Around the summer of 1954, the couple towed the recently converted trailer to Kings Beach, California on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. [10] The fledgling restaurant soon became popular with celebrities like the cast of the Bonanza TV series that filmed nearby and members of the Rat Pack who were performing at casinos in the area. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taco</span> Mexican filled tortilla food

A taco is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, beans, vegetables, and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety. They are often garnished with various condiments, such as salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, and vegetables, such as lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Tacos are a common form of antojitos, or Mexican street food, which have spread around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburger</span> American sandwich of ground beef patty

A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis; condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, or a "special sauce", often a variation of Thousand Island dressing; and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger patty topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enchilada</span> Corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a sauce

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fajita</span> Tex-Mex dish

A fajita, in Tex-Mex cuisine, is any stripped grilled meat with stripped peppers and onions usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. The term originally referred to skirt steak, the cut of beef first used in the dish. Popular alternatives to skirt steak include chicken and other cuts of beef, as well as vegetables instead of meat. In restaurants, the meat is usually cooked with onions and bell peppers. Popular condiments include shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, refried beans, and diced tomatoes. "Arrachera", another term for skirt steak, is also applied to a northern Mexican variant of the dish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nachos</span> Tortilla chip dish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese fries</span> Fast-food dish of fries and cheese

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frito pie</span> American savory dish

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sorich, Sonya (October 26, 2016). "For Jimboy's Tacos, vision for future could include margaritas". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  2. Burns, M.; Burns, K. (2013). Lost Restaurants of Sacramento and Their Recipes. American Palate. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 69. ISBN   978-1-62584-041-7 . Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  3. Mark Glover (September 25, 2014). "Roseville-based Jimboy's Tacos making a push into Texas". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Retail-restaurant roundup: Jimboy's tacos plans California expansion; Mama D's adding location; craft brewers nab awards". Orange County Register. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Weber, Toby (January 1, 2019). "Jimboy's Tacos is not a Mexican Food Chain". Foodservice Equipment & Supplies. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  6. Wright, Jonathan L. (May 24, 2018). "7 things you never knew about Jimboy's Tacos". Reno Gazette-Journal . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  7. Sorich, Sonya (September 23, 2022). "5 things: Sacramento County Jimboy's Day happens this weekend". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  8. Brown, Edward (February 9, 2022). "Cal-Mex Meets Cowtown: The Jimboy's Taco craze hits Fort Worth with impressive results". Fort Worth Weekly . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  9. Ralat, José R. (April 23, 2019). "The Demand for 'Authenticity' Is Threatening Kansas City's Homegrown Tacos: The fried taco, blanketed in Parmesan, is essential to the city's Mexican food history". Eater . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Boardman, George (August 31, 2004). "Homecoming for taco titan". The Union . Grass Valley, California . Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  11. Bitker, Janelle (July 6, 2017). "The Jimboy's story: How a local family built a business empire one taco at a time". Sacramento News & Review . Retrieved October 5, 2022.