As the Best of Wimberley contest voting continues, one of the most heated awards is back on the ballot – the Best Breakfast Taco
The argument between Shamrock Tacos and Mima’s Kitchen has been a back and forth amongst locals that might as well split the town like the Hatfields and McCoys.
But while the residents debate on which has the best breakfast taco, both Shamrock and Mima’s are content on making the best quality product for their beloved customers.
SHAMROCK TACOS
A dream job for Works
Randy Works had found his dream business when he found Shamrock’s Tacos here in Wimberley.
After trying one of their tacos, he realized this was the place to be when he ended up buying the store from the previous owner.
He has since kept the store going including keeping the exact same recipes Shamrock has had for the past 20 years.
“I bought the store seven years ago,” Works said. “My wife and I came from The Woodlands, and we had tacos here that were off the charts amazing. Shane Barbie, who was vice president of Ozona Bank at the time, had owned the store, and he was selling it. We had to have it (Shamrock). To this day, because I’m a foodie, my own joint is my favorite place to eat. From our nachos to fish tacos to shrimp tacos, to our fajita meat. For example, our fajita meat takes 24 hours to make and all of our recipes, no matter what happens here, haven’t changed in 20 years. They are exactly the same.”
For Works, the key to staying on top of the taco business is to have fresh ingredients while also preparing for the upcoming busy months.
“Everything we make is from scratch,” Works said. “They (cooks) are peeling and boiling potatoes, chopping tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, and making everything from scratch. It’s a lot of work and a challenge to keep people… We are hiring constantly because if you don’t stay ahead of the game you won’t have enough people to serve. In Wimberley, tourism is starting now, and so we are preparing to overstaff for the rush that is about to hit…I’ve taken jobs on the side so that our store would survive during the hard times.”
MIMA’S KITCHEN
Wimberley staple for the past 27 years
If you have lived in the Wimberley community for some time, chances are you have had the cooking of one Helen Saucedo, better known as Mima Saucedo.
Though she started selling her tacos during Wimberley Market Days, she has since started her own restaurant better known as Mima’s Kitchen. It opened in 1995, and is now run by her daughter Mandy Saucedo Anderson.
For Saucedo Anderson, the family run business has been such a staple within the Wimberley Valley, which includes having a second business in Canyon Lake. The customers have such fond memories for the place from the parents all the way to the grown ups.
“All the recipes are my mom’s, who is Mima,” Saucedo Anderson said. “She has always put in a lot of love when it comes to cooking. She started doing all the cooking when we first started, and now it’s been going for 27 years in July. She did the cooking for the first two years and now we have since taken over and just follow her recipes. Despite everyone ‘loving’ them, everyone seems to have grown up on them honestly. All of the younger kids, Mima’s grandkids, and her kids went to Wimberley High School, and even if they didn’t eat at the restaurant, they probably have eaten at her house before.”
Mima’s Kitchen also uses fresh ingredients to keep their food the best it can be while also putting their best effort into what they do to make the restaurant go.
“Everything is cooked fresh,” Saucedo Ander son said. “Cooks, tortilla makers, everyone gets there at 5 a.m., and we make fresh tortillas every morning. Our cooks do everything fresh from our beans to our salsa. Everything here is made fresh in the morning… There are a lot of taco businesses going on these days, and there has been for quite awhile, but as I tell everybody, a lot of it (success) has to do with family establishment that everyone pours their heart into customer service all the way down to ingredients that we put in our food. That is how we stay in the game.”
But aside from the supposed rivalry between the two businesses, both owners are happy to see that their customers are continuing to put them as one of the best places to eat in Wimberley.
“We are very honored that they (voters) consider us for those different categories,” Saucedo Anderson said. “It still makes my mother feel really good…It feels good that the hard work is paying off, but it makes my mom feel really honored and proud.”
“It just shows us that the people love us,” Works said. “We don’t push that, so when people vote for us, I know people who try to get votes, but we don’t do anything to get votes. People vote for us because they love us… So when we win, it’s because people want to take their own time without the encouragement from us and say ‘We love Shamrock Tacos’’.
THE CONTENDERS
But Mima’s Kitchen and Shamrock Tacos are not the only places that sell breakfast tacos in Wimberley. There are plenty of other contenders for the Best of Wimberley award for Best Breakfast Taco.
The Wimberley Cafe has a delicious and customizable breakfast taco. You can even get it open faced with full strips of bacon if you’d like. Durango’s Mexican Restaurant has breakfast taco specials that draw crowds in the mornings as well, and Exxon’s kitchen is also teeming every morning with those looking for solid food at a great price.
There are multiple new contenders as well. Tacos El Tizon began offering breakfast tacos when they moved from the food truck to its new brick and mortar location next door to Subway. Rosita’s Food Trail is serving breakfast tacos, as it just opened up next to Kelly’s Hill Country BBQ trailer at the Y Center. The recently opened Cypress Falls Bistros at the Lodge at Cypress Falls is also offering breakfast tacos as well as other breakfast, lunch and dinner options on their recently expanded menu.
While Mima’s and Shamrock have historically dominated the “Best Breakfast Taco” category in the Best of Wimberley contest, with one of the two winning every year the contest has been held, there are plenty of contenders this year wanting to enter the fray. Use this as your excuse to try them all.
Visit wimberleyview.com to vote in the Best of Wimberley contest.
