The “Tampiqueña” was created in 1939 by restaurateur José Inés Loredo and his brother, Chef Fidel, both originally from San Luis Potosí. However, the dish was not created in Tampico, Tamaulipas but in Mexico City instead, in their restaurant “Tampico Club”. They decided to give the place that name to honor the many years that both lived in the port of Tampico, Tamaulipas.
Tampiqueña is nowadays served in Mexican restaurants around the world.
José Inés arrived in Tampico in 1915 where he began his career in the gastronomic area. He worked for restaurants such as the Imperial Hotel and Café Victoria until he ended up working in one of the best restaurants in the country back then, the Bristol.
Gastronomic demand grew in Tampico due to the oil “boom” that turned the port into a place of wealth during these years.
José Inés rose in his career until he became a Municipal official, then Chief of Police, and finally the Municipal President of Tampico.
In 1939, José Inés and his brother Fidel moved to Mexico City to open their restaurant, located on the corner of Avenida Juárez and Balderas, which they named the “Tampico Club.”
At first, the dish was called “Huasteco Lunch” since it was suggested to be consumed in the mornings. Part of its success was because the restaurant operated 24 hours a day and was a favorite for both late sleepers and early risers and little by little it became a landmark in downtown Mexico City.
Its success was so great that people began to order it as a main dish during mealtime rather than as breakfast and that was when the name was changed to “Carne Asada a la Tampiqueña”.
To this, a portion of rajas poblanas was added to make it a more complete meal.
The restaurant became so popular that they began to receive all types of clients, especially politicians, and with a demand for greater luxury, the jerky (which they considered very tough) was changed to a cut of steak.
In 1971, Chef Fidel Loredo of the Loredo Tampico restaurant, located on the corner of Eucalipto Street and Hidalgo Avenue, added the refried beans with tortilla chips and made the entire dish fit on one plate.
They gave each ingredient a meaning:
The oval plate represents the Huasteca region; the strip of roast meat, along the Pánuco River; the green enchiladas, the Huasteco countryside; the white cheese, the purity of the people who live in the Huasteca; guacamole, the fruits of the region; the black beans, the fertility of the land and the oil boom in Tampico back in the day.’
