I wrote down this quote with the idea that I’ll be able to come up with some good advice or a funny story.
I don’t have anything for you….
However it’s tamale day and I do love tamales.
I don’t like these tamales that come wrapped up in corn husks and are supposed to be the real deal. My tamale comes wrapped in paper. I don’t buy it from Juan on a corner somewhere in Pilsen. Real tamales are sold by guys named Anthony or Johnny.
When I think of tamales I think of the Chicago tamale. The Chicago tamale isn’t rolled on the thighs of Guatemalan virgins. They are made by an industrial machine that shoots out glorious tubes of cornmeal wrapped around some kind of meat. The meat is like a pasty chili base and the cornmeal is a rubbery yellow container. Wrapped and tucked in paper that says either TomTom or Supreme on it.
TomTom has been making Chicago tamales since the 1930’s and Supreme started in the 1950’s.
I come from a TomTom family. My dad was a TomTom guy and so am I.
It’s kind of like you’re either a Dominick’s or a Jewels family.
One of the reasons my ass cheeks are so round and sexy is because of these tubes of succulent flavor. When I go to the hot dog stand I’ll usually order my Chicago Trifecta, the Trinity of flavor. A Chicago hotdog dragged through the garden, a TomTom and another Chicago delicacy….. The pizza puff!
Did you know the PizzaPuff is another Chicago invention?
Now you do!
But that story is for the Morning Chalkboard on National Pizza Puff Day. Today is National Tamale Day.
Back to the Trinity of flavor. Now I love an evening at Gene and Georgetti’s for steak or a nice bowl of pasta at Rosebud. Though for me the perfect meal is eaten on a picnic bench outside a hotdog stand.
Stuffed in a brown greasy bag in the order they must be eaten. The tamale on top, the pizza puff in the middle and the hot dog on the bottom. A hotdog with a yellow condiment, not a red condiment.
Today is National Tamale Day. Don’t go out and get those squishy watery tamales wrapped in some kind of banana leaf. Get yourself a tamale tightly wrapped in paper with the words, “Made in Chicago since 1937.”
Remember…..
Tamale
Pizza Puff
Hotdog
My go to for this combination of flavor is Pete’s on the Northeast corner of Ridgeland and Roosevelt.
Always buy your tamale from a guy with a Greek or Chicagonese accent. They sell authenticity.
If you really want to get exotic, you'll need to find a joint that makes the Chicago legend called "The Mother-in-Law Sandwich." Nothing screams hangover more than a guy sitting at a hot dog stand with his White Sox hat turned backwards throwing a Mother in Law down his pie hole.
Let me know where you go for tamales and enjoy this rainy Thursday......
