Where should I buy bulk tamales for party?

Going to a cinco day mayo party and I would like to buy bulk mexican tamales (like 50) Anybody have the name or number of anyone I can buy or can anyone recommend a good mexican store where you have tasted the tamales?

Search is your friend. First one's free:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9514

I've had a number of good experiences ordering tamales from Taqueria El Milagro in Pilsen. I would order ASAP, as they will certainly have their hands full as the weekend draws closer.

Taqueria El Milagro
1923 S. Blue Island Ave.
312-433-7620
open 8AM to 9PM

Are you thinking about driving into Chicago solely to get the tamale's, or do you work in the city (so it's not out of your way to get them in Chicago)? It might be best/most convenient for you to check with one of Racine's Mexican restaurants or area Mexican grocery stores to ask people working in one of the places where they get their tamale's from. You can also check in Waukegan. 50 is a large order, and you might have difficulty getting someone to fill it at this late date - so, as you probably understand, time is of the essence.

I'd recommend Lo Mejor de Guerrero: they're fresh and tasty, and you can get a dozen for around 10 bucks. See:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... 0707cdfb52

Tamales Lo Mejor de Guerrero
7024 N. Clark, 773-338-6450

I am heading down on Friday or Saturday to go to a party in St. Joseph, MI (its blossomtime festival there) so I will be driving through Chicago. So plus points for something convenient to the Kennedy/Dan Ryan. But yes I need to order soon and decide if I am leaving Fri or Saturday.

i like the tamales at la casa del pueblo. it's a cafeteria style restaurant just south of 18th st. with parking. the tamales are small, but tasty and they sell hundreds every day, so 50 shouldnt be any problem. (they also have fantastic refried beans, my favorite) 1834 s. blue island
312-421-4664

Big mistake to use the Ryan. Switch to Lake Shore Drive via 55 at the interchange near the Loop, then follow the signs through Hyde Park, onto Stony Island, and onto the Skyway. Best 2 bucks you'll ever spend. Bonus: if its past noon, stop by Barbara Ann's or Lem's for a tray of tips and links. Call ahead for any order of tamales and/or BBQ to be sure of hours and availability.

Though, to be fair, there is some quite good BBQ in the same style in Benton Harbor, minutes away from St. Joe's. Willie Lark & Son's BBQ and Car Wash is the real deal. Not as exotic as BBQ and hourly motel, but still. Note the three huge outside smokers.

http://www.goswm.com/go_htm/southwest_m ... index.htm#

For good "non-Chicago/Mississippi" 'cue (esp. pulled pork and brisket, plus great beans), Piggin-n-Grinnin is a few blocks away.

http://www.piggin-n-grinnin.com/

And in case you aren't aware of the places in St. Joe's with good fish, I like Clementines, by the river, for perch.

http://www.ohmydarling.com/

But you asked about tamales in Chicago--

The natural thing to do is to jump off of the Ryan at 18th Street (Pilsen), pick up the tamales at Milagro or other recommended spot, drive south on Ashland, jump on I-55, take that to LSD and stop by BA's while on Stony (Right on 75th to Cottage Grove, south a few doors, then back to Stony to get on the Skyway). Of course, there's some great Mexican in rural Michigan 15 mins or so from St. Joseph at the markets that serve the orchard and vineyard workers (a la the taco trucks of Santa Rosa), but that's a different post.

If you get hungry on the way to Michigan, check out ReneG's recent posts re NW Indiana (there's a Schoops in Michigan City).

Best of luck.

Actually I grew up in that area haha. Have you tried Henry's Hamburgers in Benton Harbor? I am a big fan. The rural areas do not get rolling with mexican food until June actually.

Yeah, there are some posts here about Henry's.

These days, the Mexican grocery/taquerias are year round, with daily tortilla delivery from at least 4 totillerias in Chicago and MI. Carnitas and asado at la Perla are good by any standard. Hand-made-to-order sopes at La Carreta also...

Hope you find something useful in all of the replies above.

JeffB wrote:
And in case you aren't aware of the places in St. Joe's with good fish, I like Clementines, by the river, for perch.

http://www.ohmydarling.com/

I'm here once a year. Going on the 19th, and 20th this year. I had the best walleye of my life at Clementines a few years ago. Think it was just listed as "pan fried." Clementines has been the most frequented spot for me in the past, but this year, I'm gonna try to branch out. These cue spots look interesting.... (sorry for derailment)

Being from that area, I do not really have a "go-to" place when I go home for a weekend. When I return to other cities I have lived I do, but that area has a lot of bad food. I know there have been a lot of openings in the New Buffalo area and I cannot speak for those.

As far as Clementines, the onion rings must be mentioned as they are delicious. It is actually pretty hard to find decent homemade onion rings. Which is surprising considering how cheap it would be to make them. I have never tried making them, perhaps they are difficult to make. At Clementine's the onion rings come on pegs and you order them by the the length of the peg.

I have not tried Piggn and Grinnin. I would like to support the places in downtown Benton Harbor though.

Ok I ordered 48 tamales from El Milagro

10 pork
20 chicken
10 cheese
8 coconut

Thanks guys!

I'll be especially interested in hearing about the coconut tamales (I'm guessing they're blind,with coconut mixed into the masa but no filling).

Ok, brought 48 tamales from El Milagro to the party. Big sucess. Although some people in that area had never seen tamales before and were trying to eat the corn husks lol.

Anyway, as far as a review

The pork tamales were excellent. They had red sauce integrated into the tamale which gave them the most flavor and they were not dry. The chicken tamales were also good, but not as good as the pork.

The cheese were pretty dry. The coconut were actually coconut and raisin. These were bright pink and also a little dry although several people liked them. I didnt really taste that strong of a coconut flavor.

In summary, go for a lot of pork when you are ordering the bulk tamales.