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The Tamale Lady in front of the Mexican Embassy
No offense to the sombrero cart on 50th St. btw. 6+7th, but for the most part the Mexican Food in Midtown sucks. For the best Mexican food in the U.S., the closer you get to the source, like L.A. or Texas, the better the food is going to be. So it should be no surprise that the best Mexican food in Midtown can be found right in front of the Mexican Embassy, on 39th St. btw. Park + Madison.
Just like the ballfields in Red Hook, supply follows demand. Want to serve pupusas from El Salvador? Go to where the Salvadoreans play futbol on the weekends. Homemade tamales? Head to the Mexican Embassy, where a lady sits out front all day long selling tamales and hot drinks (cold in the summertime) to those waiting outside.
A big bag o tamales, and a +/- after the jump…
I speak a little bit of Spanish, so it wasn’t too hard to communicate my order- but luckily the menu is not that extensive. Tamale. Drink. Easy enough. With my rudimentary Spanish, I determined that there were three tamale choices (Pork, chicken or cheese), and each was $1.25. With those ridiculously cheap prices, I ordered one of each.
I took my bag of tamales to the curb and dug in. The pork one was pretty easy identify:
But the other two were a little tougher. I thought one was just cheese, but both seemed to have chicken, and one of them had cheese and a green pepper that I’m guessing was a poblano chili (but I’m not sure.) Maybe I’m not so good at speaking Spanish after all. Of course, I’ll eat anything so I didn’t really care. All three were delicious, and mildly spicy (for people who like spicy. For people who don’t, they could be considered “very spicy”)
She also had two drinks for sale. A hot chocolate, and an “arroz con leche”, a sweet and hot milk drink with rice in it. Both were $2.50, and perfect for the winter weather. (In the warmer months, she has cold drinks.)
Cheap, authentic Mexican food made for Mexican people. What more could you want? And at $1.25 a piece, how can there be any complaints about the tamales- but I’ve still go to do the +/-
The + (What somebody who loves this place would say)
- I love tamales!
- Super cheap
- Authentic Mexican food, made for Mexican people (i.e. not typical Midtown Mexican)
- I eat everything, so not knowing what’s in each tamale isn’t that big a deal
The - (What somebody who wouldn’t like this place would say)
- I don’t speak Spanish, so I didn’t know what I was ordering
- I’m a vegetarian, and am afraid of getting meat in my Tamale
- I don’t eat pork, and don’t speak Spanish, so how do I know there’s no pork in my tamale?
- I don’t like spicy food
- I like Chipotle.
The Tamale Lady outside the Mexican Embassy, 27 E. 39th St. (btw. Mad+Park)
Posted: November 19th, 2007 under Mexican.
Comments: 34
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Comments
Comment from Swan
Time: November 19, 2007, 9:52 am
Oooh! I love tamales and have been on a quest to find good ones around midtown or below. I ended up at Las Poblanitas the other day which was decent. Thank you so much for bring this to everyone’s attention!
Comment from Jason
Time: November 19, 2007, 10:15 am
Can’t a person like both authentic Mexican food and Chipotle?
Comment from Zach@MidtownLunch
Time: November 19, 2007, 10:21 am
I kid people who like Chipotle. I kid!
Comment from Mala
Time: November 19, 2007, 10:31 am
I walk past the embassy every single day, even work right across from it, and have never dared approach the lady with her wares. Thank you, Zach, for, as always, boldly going where no Midtown foodie has gone before. I LOVE tamales. I may have to try.
Comment from TXC
Time: November 19, 2007, 10:32 am
Were three tamales sufficient for a hearty and filling noon meal?
Comment from Vishal
Time: November 19, 2007, 11:13 am
This sounds awesome though I’ve never seen her.
Zach, you also ought to check out the Tacos from Le Croissant shop on 6th avenue between 39th and 38th. They do some pretty authentic Mexican tacos- 3 for 6.75 and they have pork chicken and steak. I tried all 3 and I thought all were pretty good.
They do Tamales there too, but I’ve yet to try them.
Comment from Mamacita
Time: November 19, 2007, 12:10 pm
The chipotle line was the funniest part!
Those tamales look good. Man, I can’t wait to go home for Christmas!!
Comment from DDR
Time: November 19, 2007, 12:50 pm
Zach, you need to tell us whether the 3 tamales were enough food to fill you up. I’m guessing they’re a good snack but I’d need at least 5 for a full meal, no?
Comment from ESNY
Time: November 19, 2007, 1:22 pm
Today I got two tamales and then stopped by the soup vendor on 41st and Park for a large chicken gumbo (closest thing he had to a “Mexican” soup). A good, big meal for $8.50.
Comment from Zach@MidtownLunch
Time: November 19, 2007, 1:22 pm
I wouldn’t call it a “balanced” lunch, but 3 was definitely filling. I’m sure the “arroz con leche” helped too…
Comment from danny
Time: November 19, 2007, 1:25 pm
man that looks good. my question is if i don’t know any spanish, is ordering going to be possible?
Comment from Rudy McBagel
Time: November 19, 2007, 1:29 pm
Shout ‘Immigration!!!, freeze!’ during busy lunchtimes to gain rapid queue advancement.
Comment from Mamacita
Time: November 19, 2007, 3:51 pm
You shouldn’t have any trouble ordering Danny.
There’s chicken, cheese, and pork. The lady probably knows enough english to translate the options.
1,2, 3 (uno, dos, tres) and pork (puerco), cheese (queso) or chicken (pollo).
Hand her some money and don’t forget to tip. She doing us all a favor by providing authentic eats for a fraction of what you’d pay at a restaurant.
Comment from Yvo
Time: November 19, 2007, 4:54 pm
Hahahaha I saw this and was like, oh my friend has been going on and on about tamales, let me send this to her, and I do, then I see she already commented :P Too bad I’m so not into masa =(
Comment from Lrao
Time: November 19, 2007, 5:31 pm
Rudy McB,
You are funny!
Comment from Rudy McBagel
Time: November 19, 2007, 5:32 pm
like is not an adjective.
Comment from jeffo
Time: November 20, 2007, 10:47 am
Thanks for the tip. I’ve missed the tamale ladies and gentlemen who prowled the offices in downtown Houston. Dame tres tamales de puerco por favor!
Comment from lopex
Time: November 26, 2007, 12:51 pm
For all those Spanish challenged folks out there, yeah, ordering should not be a problem. For vegetarians, on the other hand…the rice milk and chocolate are good :)
And tamales is the plural, tamal (not “tamale”) the singular.
McBagel, you’re about as funny as a detention center.
Comment from Theresa
Time: January 8, 2008, 5:37 pm
If you are lucky you can even get food AND entertainment when you check out the frequent street protesters lined up in barricades next to the Mexican consulate…
Comment from Vishal
Time: January 30, 2008, 1:11 pm
Finally tried this today. 3 tamales for $4.75 cannot be beat. Very filling. I actually thought the cheese was the best- it was very spicy compared to the other 2 and had some chorizo like sausage inside of it.
Comment from Leo
Time: March 21, 2008, 12:33 pm
I went today, and there was nobody there. And then I realized, it’s Good Friday. That probably had something to do with my tamal-deficient afternoon.
Comment from Michelle
Time: April 6, 2008, 12:57 am
Does anyone know if they’re open on weekends? (I wish I still worked in Midtown.)
Comment from shruti
Time: April 15, 2008, 10:24 am
i went yesterday around 12:30 and there was no one there… does anybody know if she stopped coming ?
Comment from Tamalicious
Time: April 17, 2008, 1:27 pm
Just came back from the Tamale lady - she’s still on 39th between Park & Madison, on the north side of the street. Went around 12:15, and she was already out of arroz con leche. I went with a Spanish-speaking friend and confirmed that there is NO meat in the cheese tamale. GREAT STUFF. Still an amazing $1.25 each.
Comment from tamale!
Time: May 8, 2008, 1:33 pm
yum! these tamales are indeed delicious! i highly recommend them. currently chowing down on a pork and cheese one as i write this.
Comment from sy
Time: June 4, 2008, 5:57 pm
me and three other coworkers walked over to the tamale lady to try her tamales out. 3 out of 4 of us were short asian women. we got some stares from folks hanging around the embassy, but luckily the 4th with us speaks fluent spanish, so it kinda balanced us out. no cheese today, but she did have “sweet.” i had the pork (spicy! delicious!) and the “sweet.” the corn was bright pink, and it had raisins. definitely sweet, not sure if I could eat two of them like I could the pork. but very tasty, and well worth trying.
Comment from sy
Time: June 4, 2008, 6:00 pm
(before grammar police come, I’d like to retract my first sentence, and revise with, “three other coworkers and i walked over…”
Comment from at
Time: June 16, 2008, 1:44 pm
up to $1.50/tamale. still very much worth it.
Comment from Sirena Nathalie
Time: July 7, 2008, 11:34 am
I make tamales and maybe I am overly pickey. This was a cool find. Loved the location. Nice people but I found the tamales very average.. but good, cheap and basic. Would recommend buying 4 just to make sure you get a full sampling and just incase one is a little missing something you still have more than enough to eat. I like the spicy ones (pork?) the best. The cheese was a strange texture but all edible. I bought along my own hot sauce.
Comment from jamie
Time: August 14, 2008, 2:01 pm
working in midtown and being on very tight “budget” (ie broke) usually means i bring my lunch in. didnt have time this morning so i checked out the tamales cart for the first time… done and done, i have found my new go-to spot. 3 tamales for $4.50 and im def full. my chicken was spicier than the pork, but both were delicious (no cheese today). for those worried about speaking spanish her son (?) was there helping out and he speaks english (whether you want him to or not, i was looking forward to practicing. and sue me, but i kind of love places that allow you to pretend you are somewhere else, ie no english. its more fun, and one of the reasons why i love greenpoint.)
thanks midtown lunch! you are the best!
Comment from Bossman
Time: August 14, 2008, 2:31 pm
Which one?
Comment from tim
Time: August 20, 2008, 2:16 pm
these tamales are delicious! the chicken and cheese were spicy and tasty - i’m originally from louisiana, so the spicier, the better. the pork was good, just not my favorite. and there was definitely no meat in my cheese tamale.
thanks midtown lunch!
Comment from lc
Time: August 20, 2008, 2:46 pm
I passed by here this morning at about 7:45 and she was there dishing out the tamales (!). didn’t have time to stop though. went back a little after 10 AM and got one chicken and one pork tamale (no others were available). brought ‘em back to work with me, and … yum.
(NOTE, I passed by yesterday at about 7:30 AM and she was not there. maybe too early? maybe she only does SOME mornings?)
Comment from Promet
Time: August 28, 2008, 12:29 pm
I went there this morning ~10:30 and she was already out of chicken! :( so I went with the 6 for $9 “special”, as it offered by the young guy who helps out the tamale lady.
I just want to say that I believe this lady to be a Tamale Genius, her Masa (the corn flour part of the tamale) is brilliantly flavored, I mean, I have easily eaten my weight (which is not insignificant) in tamales and this lady’s Masa is fantastic.
Her fillings are also excellent, and these guys (the tamales) are legitimately spicy, not the bland, almost waterlogged impostors that you will find some places. Again, sadly, didn’t get to try the chicken, but the pork is also excellently spiced and the cheese and chili is a little slice of heaven.
In his review Zach seems to be concerned that there was chicken in the cheese tamale. I wanted to point out that this didn’t seem to be the case for me. The cheese that she uses when tightly compacted in the masa and steamed does though take on a similar appearance and almost similar texture to a long piece of “pulled” shredded chicken. Tastes like cheese to me though. I would actually like to know what cheese she uses though, as it does have an interesting texture; absolutely slamming with her generous use of chilies though.
Seriously, I’m going to save two months salary, get a ring and go back down there! Te quiero Tamale Lady, te quiero!
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