Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Random Things I Love About Portland - Tamale Gals

Here in Portland, we have a roaming hot tamale sales force. And when I say hot, I mean hot. Every morning, somebody, somewhere cooks handmade tamales. Then these gals hit the road, keeping their delicious cargo hot and fresh in a cooler. (Shouldn't it be called a "warmer"?) They can be found in neighborhoods and on streets with small businesses, calling out "Tamales...five dollars...tamales..." You want chicken, pork or vegetarian? Cause these ladies have 'em all. Six tamales for 5 bucks.

Cheap and yummy. Just like me.

13 comments:

Chickens in the Basement said...

No fair! All we have is guys parked outside Lowe's selling hotdogs. I can cook a whole package for the price of one. No tamales in NC...at least not the edible kind!

From one hot tamale to another!

Vintage Christine said...

Yummy and cheap? Me too! Don't you love it when your hubby wraps you up in a corn husk and then . . . whoops! Maybe that's just MY husband, ha ha. New Orleans has had tamale vendors for forever--my cousin who is NOT Hispanic makes them by the dozen. After Katrina we finally started seeing actual Hispanic people selling tamales for all the workers who came to rebuild. They are soooooo good!!

trash talk said...

Don't forget hot and spicy!
Debbie

Heidi Ann said...

Oh, I would definitely buy some of their tamales! They DO look yummy!

Signs and Salvage said...

Oh I am hungry!!! I am DYING for a burrito...from the mexican market around the corner...but was good and had my blech diet milk shake instead. Your post is making it REALLY hard though!!!!

Happy Wednesday!!!

Take Care,

Kristin

Vanessa said...

My mom and I make homemade tamales the difficult, old fashioned way only twice per year. I wish we had tamale vendors here, $5 is a bargain for such a tasty portable treat.

Amber Von Felts said...

OH MAN! I want some veggie ones, can I mail you five bucks? Yum!

Anonymous said...

Hey what neighborhood do I have to be in to find the Tamale gals?

Six in One Hand said...

First off,
the fact that you're in Portland has me very jealous...

Second,
those tamales look goooooood!!!!

I love my key sooo much!!!
Thank you!!!!

Emily said...

Those tamales are the bomb. I once got six veggie tamales (intending to share them with the family)... Um, I bet you can guess where they all ended up.

Rosie said...

Hey! Those same ladies sit outside the Amvets Thrift store in Escondido! Nothing beats a tamale for lunch after a tough morning of thrifting! LOL
rosie

lala said...

Lucky, lucky you!!! When I lived in California I ate tamales all of the time because they were available everywhere - even at the farmers market. Now I am living in Connecticut and NO TAMALES, just yucky frozen ones.

EverydayMe said...

gotta love tamales... I learned how to do them from scratch this last winter and I can't wait to do it again!!! enjoy!!
{{hugs}} Michelle