Tamales are harder to find at many Mexican restaurants. I've noticed that for a long time. I'm guessing without the cheap labor that was sent home, the cost, and effort, to mass produce tamales isn't something the restaurants want to absorb with the increasing cost of restaurant labor. It's a shame, but in Texas, there are locals that sell tamales by the dozen, and that's all they offer. They're not inexpensive (but what isn't these days?), but to those that know tamales, the cost for the good tamales is worth it. A half dozen, covered with cheese, salsa roja, and some finely chopped onions is what I consider a delicacy.
Amen, and drug deal Tamales are the best!!! Out of the back of a disreputable pickup in an abandoned gas station for the win!
ReplyDeleteI worked in an industrial facility where an operator's wife arrived every Wednesday before noon. with a large ice chest full of tamales. At that time, a dozen was $6 and a half was $3. Best I ever ate, and when he retired, a good lunch disappeared forever.
DeleteName something that isn't expensive and costly to produce these days...
ReplyDeleteI have nothing. Inflation destroys what it supposedly helps, and those that profit from it have a bonanza in income.
DeleteAs much as I love Mexican food, I've never had a tamale.
ReplyDeleteMy ex mother-in-law (Cajun, but a fantastic cook) made them every once in a while. The recipe was simple, but making the Masa, stuffing, and rolling the masa with the cooked filling into the tamale, then steaming the tamales was labor intensive. I called it a labor of love, and hers were some of the best I ever ate. They're tasty without the sauce, and cheese. A half-dozen makes a great, simple, and what used to be simple, inexpensive meal.
DeleteThey're meh around here.
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