I can accept all of Tamale Lady's inconsistencies, though:
1. Tamales are recovered out of the steam emanating from a restaurant-grade steel stock pot. Usually you'll get the familiar Mexican kind, steamed in corn husks ($1.50). But if you're lucky, she'll also have South American-style tamales, larger and steamed in plantain leaves ($2). I like these better, but they're a rarer breed.
2. Ask for spicy and you can choose from two picante varieties, red or green. Sometimes.
3. The tamale fillings are slightly different every time – sometimes a slab of Oaxacan cheese, sometimes chili or bell pepper. Chicken is only there to show its face, colorless, flavorless, and textureless, so I'm happy when half the time the tamale is totally meatless.
4. Tamale Lady may also have elote (Mexican boiled corn on a stick, covered in queso fresco crumbles), and hot arroz con leche, which lacks the artificial powdery almond flavor of other arroz con leche.
5. Find her with her tiny tamale-cart setup next to the taco truck (yelp.com/biz/tacos-y-que…), 6-11pm every day – but even this is inconsistent. Depends on the trade winds. Once or twice she has run out of tamales, but in that case, you can always walk over 5 feet to get a taco.
Tamale Lady is sometimes a man.
I can accept all of Tamale Lady's inconsistencies, though:
1. Tamales are recovered out of the steam emanating from a restaurant-grade steel stock pot. Usually you'll get the familiar Mexican kind, steamed in corn husks ($1.50). But if you're lucky, she'll also have South American-style tamales, larger and steamed in plantain leaves ($2). I like these better, but they're a rarer breed.
2. Ask for spicy and you can choose from two picante varieties, red or green. Sometimes.
3. The tamale fillings are slightly different every time – sometimes a slab of Oaxacan cheese, sometimes chili or bell pepper. Chicken is only there to show its face, colorless, flavorless, and textureless, so I'm happy when half the time the tamale is totally meatless.
4. Tamale Lady may also have elote (Mexican boiled corn on a stick, covered in queso fresco crumbles), and hot arroz con leche, which lacks the artificial powdery almond flavor of other arroz con leche.
5. Find her with her tiny tamale-cart setup next to the taco truck (yelp.com/biz/tacos-y-que…), 6-11pm every day – but even this is inconsistent. Depends on the trade winds. Once or twice she has run out of tamales, but in that case, you can always walk over 5 feet to get a taco.