EVENT: Tamale Festival

Via Erin's Kitchen and Daily Candy

This weekend, starting Friday at 3:00 p.m., The Second Annual Tamale Festival will take place at MacArthur Park by Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe.

The festival will feature a bunch of live entertainment, a tamale eating contest, tamale making classes, and a biggest tamale contest.

If you've never had a tamale, you are missing out on one of the tastiest and most convenient foods around. Tamales are little packages of warm soft masa, mixed with water and steamed in a corn husk. It can be filled with meats, vegetables, cheeses and any combination thereof. It can even be filled with fruit, and can be made in as many beautiful colors as there are colors of corn. And it's portable!

And if you've never been to Mama's Hot Tamale Cafe, you are also missing out. You may have seen Mama's work if you've ever driven by MacArthur Park on 7th St. and noticed a whole row of stands dedicated to tamales of different Latin American countries. Mama's not only is an eating destination, it's a training ground, where local residents can apprentice and learn and prepare for a career in the food service industry.

Tamales are an ancient food that have been served in the Americas for around 5,000 years across several cultures. If you're interested in food, and in Los Angeles, or hispanic culture, you could do worse than head down there and check it out.

Comments

Acme Instant Food said…

"Mama's Hot Tamales"

"Biggest Tamale Contest"

Why does everything turn dirty in my head? As I've said before, I need therapy.

3:40 PM

KT said…

I think you're totally sane. After all, I am pretty sure that "biggest [X] contests" were invented by men for reasons that are totally along the lines you are thinking.

Men are obsessed with having the biggest [X].

3:46 PM

Acme Instant Food said…

Okay--I'll spare your readers and end this now

**hanging head in shame and leaving**

3:48 PM

Unknown said…

Ooooh, I heart tamales!

4:07 PM

Jeremy said…

I'm gonna keep banging this "next big thing" drum.

Deep fried tamales.

Fusion tamales. Particualrly Indian versions sound good.

Tamales are the new wraps.

Serve it with a vanilla bean.

Sorry.

10:35 PM

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