Jacalito Grill

Restaurant is no longer called Jacalito grill but is El Patron.

Came here for a work lunch with my manager and his manager. Talk about uncomfortable… However, they have great taste in restaurants and this is one of their local favorites.
We started with some fresh chips and red salsa. I loved the chips and in an effort to keep myself entertained while discussing current industry trends, I polished off the entire basket. Yep, they were that good.
I ordered shrimp tacos off their lunch menu. Their lunch menu is reasonably priced — my tacos were $ 7 and the other dishes were around this price point. The shrimp tacos came on six inch tortillas doubled up and topped with lettuce and thousand island. The shrimp was diced and well flavored but, slightly overcooked. I wasn’t too thrilled with the thousand island, either. The rice was fluffy and the portions were huge!
I’m interested in their margaritas and their drinks but alas, it was a work lunch. I’ll be back for some more chips and salsa and to sample their other dishes (and happy hour)!

Some seriously delicious food. I can’t believe there are no reviews… Perhaps it’s because Unilocal has yet to take off ’round these here parts like it has in LA. I’ll be happy to introduce the world to this Jacalito Grill.
Chips and salsa arrived promptly. Chips are very likely made in-​house and the salsa had some great spice. It’s the dark roasted tomato type, and we enjoyed several bowls while we were there.
They also make their sweet and sour in house, my margarita was full of fresh limey goodness. I liked them so much that I had three!
For lunch/​dinner I ordered the Sopes special with shredded beef. It came piled high with lettuce and sour cream drizzled over the top. The beef was moist and very yummy, a kind of a stewed shredded beef instead of dried up versions I’ve had in other places. While the gorditas themselves could have been a little more crispy… but, maybe it’s better (for my health) that they weren’t obviously fried.
Other food on the table included crispy tacos and Beef Flautas. I didn’t get to try any of that because all of it was devoured in a hurry. There was not even a tiny hint of dissatisfaction from any of us.
Now, in addition to the strawberry limeade from Sonic, I have another gastronomic reason to look forward to visiting Bakersfield again… that, and the lovely portion of my family who has chosen this valley as their home.