A Dozen Delicious Tamales Demolished From The Tamale Lady in Chicago, IL

I live in Southern California so I have very high expectations of Mexican food so when I learned that Chicago has a thriving tamale scene I had to see it for myself. After extensive research many reviewers gave high marks to “The Tamale Lady” in Pilsen and raved about her hand-made pockets of joy especially the ones with spicy green sauce. A few even stated that there would be long lines bright and early in the morning and that they were worth the wait.    

Green Chicken (Spicy) and Red Pork (Mild) Tamales

The weather forecasted rain, but since I saw photos of her standing in the snow during the winter months I had no doubt she’d sell her goods in case it poured cats and dogs – and I was right! There was no line at 9am (probably because of the rain and humidity) and she had everything available. I decided to grab a dozen of the tamales with green chicken (spicy) and a half dozen with red pork (mild) to bring back home for my family and friends to enjoy a piece of Chicago. But before packing them up, I took it upon myself to be a guinea pig and taste test one of the red ones. Oh-Em-Gee, it was delicious!! The corn to meat ratio was perfect and the flavor brought everything together cohesively.

Tamale Cart

I recently went to a “must eat” tamale shop in LA recently, and I would rather have the tamales from THIS lady. For $15 a dozen or $1.25 for a single, I would definitely come back and buy more!

Between the two tamales – if you could only have one which would you pick? Red Pork (mild) or Green Chicken (spicy)?

 

 

XOXO,

Rockstar

 

The Tamale Lady
21ST Pl, Chicago, IL 60608

Hours
Sun – Sat: 7am until they sell out

One thought on “A Dozen Delicious Tamales Demolished From The Tamale Lady in Chicago, IL

  1. I started out eating the chicken ones back in 2009. I happened to try a cheese one many years ago, I just don’t remember exactly how long ago, but for a long time my favorite has been the jalapeno cheese. I settle for the chicken when there’s no cheese, however, they are all great! I love the tamales and I’ve been scouring the city for something better, but there isn’t. There’s a lot of hype with some other tamales, but they really just don’t add up. It has been my opinion for over a decade now that these are, in fact, the best tamales in Chicago. I will never stop searching for something close or better, but I just don’t think they exist. Love these things! Especially the cheese and jalapeno.

    Like

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