Midtown Lunch

Strolling through the Italian Market I noticed a sign for tamales on the door of a bodega. Yes, please.

Los Amigos Meat Market sells things like Jarritos, tomatillos, dried chiles, cotija cheese, homemade tortilla chips (ooo!), and of course meats. But I was just there to get my tamales and get out, so that I might eat them on a stoop in the sunshine.

3 tamales go for $6 or they are $2.25 a piece. 3 of these big fellas is more than enough for a lunch.

I chose 2 of the chicken in red sauce and 1 beef in green sauce. It is always a gamble when you cut in to a tamale, will it be a little sad shred or two of meat or a hearty handful of protein?

Luckily it was the latter, I was blessed with plenty of filling within the cornmeal. Both were a little spicy. I preferred the beef because it was slightly more moist than the chicken. But, you would not do wrong either way.

The men behind the counter will heat them up if you are going to eat them right away, as I did, in the sunshine.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Big tamales for cheap

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Tamales are more likely to be available on the weekends than during the week

Los Amigos Meat Market, 927 S 9th St (@ Montrose St), 215 625 0528