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There will be many people who may read this that don't live in the Sacramento region and therefore have never heard of Jimboy's Tacos. Sort of like In-n-Out Burger, it's a California thing. In fact, it's such a California thing, that you can't really classify them as a Mexican restaurant, despite the word "Tacos" in their name, because theirs is not typical Mexican fare. It's California Mexican, I guess. After all, Mexico doesn't really have Parmesan cheese on their tacos like Jimboy's does.
As my disclosure above states, my friend works for Jimboy's and so I've heard a lot about the changes her company has been going through over the last few years. You can read a pretty in depth history of them in this excellent article by Sacramento News & Review - The Jimboy's Story. That's why I'm not really going to get all detailed here.
Long story short, over the decades Jimboy's let people get franchises of their brand, but each restaurant was different. There was no consistency in look, food, etc. Basically, it was anything goes and there was no standardization and branding. That's why you would often find the burritos better at one location and the tacos better at another location. I really did know that if I went on one side of town, they did much better burritos than the one closer to my work downtown. My friend even said some owners did their own recipes.
That's changing. Jimboy's is working on updating everything. They have a new look to their restaurants and they are standardizing their menus and adding new menu items. Franchise owners have been told that they can either get on board, or they can no longer be Jimboy's restaurants. This is a good thing.
I was invited to check out the new look and a new dish at one of the newest locations in Sacramento.
The Look
The new look is definitely a big change from the 70's era plastic booths. This new location was bright with lots of new wood furniture and accents. The brightly lit "Tacos" sign beckons you to read the menu that is now on modern screens versus the menu boards of old. The accent wall has large quotes tying them to the company history. In the corner there was a big screen TV with a football game on. Definitely a more enticing look, especially to attract newbies who may never have had Jimboy's before.
The Food
One thing Jimboy's is really trying to promote is that they use fresh ingredients and do everything by scratch every day. There's no use of canned goods. Instead, vegetables are freshly chopped and meats cooked in small batches. This shown through in the new menu item they wanted me to try.
The new Street Fries are plank cut fries covered in queso, tomatoes, jalapenos, and more. Basically think of fries as nachos. I'm not kidding that I actually sat there eating the fries and mentally noting how crisp and fresh the jalapenos, tomatoes, and onions were. Another thing I noted was the how well covered the fries were. You know when you get nachos and the queso is only on the top chips so that you get frustrated that the ones underneath have no cheese? Not the case with these fries. There was plenty of cheese and toppings so that I got to enjoy every bite. Plus, you can choose what type of meat you want. They will differ in cost, but I opted for putting carnitas on mine versus the ground beef or chicken.
Jimboy's are famous for their tacos that are grilled to have a crispy shell that is sprinkled with parmesan cheese. I've never been a fan of crisp shell tacos, but I figured I ought to order just one. It was a little on the salty and greasy side for me, but I could easily see why they have a following and make particularly good hangover food.
Finally, I saw cream filled churros on the menu and just had to check them out. They were nice and hot, but I was disappointed in those and would suggest you just stick to plain churros.
The transition to the new look and menu is a slow one. The other day I went to a location that hasn't changed a bit. Just a note that the one near you may or may not reflect some of the changes that are being made company wide.
