Manolo’s Tamales, Gage Park

Manolo’s Tamales, Gage Park

This little out-of-the-way tamale joint turns out a limited number of tasty masa dumplings, filled with just pork, chicken or fruit. The meat versions have a red or green sauce; the fruit varieties seemed to be basically just colored dough with a little flavor and almost no fruit filling, though my seventeen-year old daughter likes them a lot, proclaiming the strawberry ones (in the absolute terms favored by adolescent girls) her “favorite, ever.”

This is a fairly standard-looking place.



With a fairly standard-looking menu.



But I like their product. They are not shy about larding up the masa, so the tamales are juicy, almost running with fat, and perhaps because of that, quite delicious, in the simple, elemental way that tamales usually are. They make all the food on premises of course, and they also do a nice version of Oaxacan tamales, though much smaller than the Maxwell Street version, and much moister, so that the dough cooks to almost a wet paste.

The way to go here is to get a dozen for eight bucks – enough for two or three people to eat nicely. Tamales make fantastic leftovers (they even come with their own microwaveable cornhusk wrapper!).

I also picked up a chorizo torta that was surprisingly good -- just griddled sausage, lettuce, tomato and some smashed avocado on bun about the size of a curling stone.

Worth a visit, if you're in this particular barrio.

Manolo’s Tamales
5341 S. Kedzie
Chicago, IL
773.436.7861

Sounds great. Yet another tamale joint to conquer.

You know, this place got me to wondering why Chicago tamale-makers don't experiment a bit more with tamale ingredients. The standard stuffings are pork, chicken, beef, sometimes cheese and peppers, more rarely fruit like strawberries or pineapple. I'm not saying other stuffings are unheard of in Chicago, but the tamale is such an excellent platform for just about any ingredient that I am somewhat surprised that we don't see more fish, shrimp, lobster, mushroom, turkey, goat, tomatoes, honey, nuts, seeds, raisins or simply vegetables like chayote or carrot inside the tamale. And although I usually get a fruit tamale when I see one, most are, to be frank, poor: artificial coloring and scant servings of actual fruit.

I believe we can do better by the tamale than this.

Innovative tamale filling seems a fertile area for exploration, and although the case could be made that some of the stuffings I've mentioned are nontraditional, the pork we frequently find in many local versions of this 9,000 year-old dish didn't become a component until 1492. The tamale is a very adaptable creature, and I don't think it has been allowed to realize its full potential.

David, have you ever tried Los Tamales on 16th St. in Cicero? They use a lot of the scarcer types of fillings, but availability changes constantly.

When I was a kid, this was a Thai restaurant (I lived down the block). Way before there was a Thai restaurant on every corner.

Now we'll have someplace besides Nicky's to visit when I take the family to the old 'hood.

The general point is well taken-even sticking with traditional fillings and variations, there are dozens of types. Rice flour is sometimes used instead of corn masa. For fillings: beans (Casa del Pueblo does sell these), greens, zucchini flowers, fish, dried shrimp, pumpkinseeds, iguana (well...).
To some extent, regional origins of Chicago's Mexican population comes into play. We don't see much of the Yucatecan types because not many Yucatecans are here. But even the array of Michoacan styles, whose people are well represented in Chicago, are not that evident commercially. People make all sorts at home though.
Haven't been to Los Tamales...

I went just this Monday to Monolos, while looking for info on Smoque BBQ I came across Monolo's Tamales on Hungry Hound. I'm a tamale guy, I really love a good tamale anytime of the day, but I have to say the Tamales were mediocre, they were traditional and tasty.

I also had a Steak Torta which was very good. It was also very different, I'm definetly used to having avacado inside but not used to having the guacamole version with tomatoes and onions spread on the bun. I love guac so I was very pleased.

Overall loved the torta but the tamales were mediocre.

--Carlos

Carlitos wrote:I really love a good tamale anytime of the day, but I have to say the Tamales were mediocre, they were traditional and tasty.

As I mentioned, the tamales were "delicious, in the simple, elemental way that tamales usually are."

"Usually are" is a key idea here: they don't break the mold, they're pretty much routine, but for all that, pretty good, at least in my book. If "mediocre" means "middle of the road, undistinguished, neither very bad nor very good," then I would agree with you, but I very much enjoyed the bag of twelve I brought home...though I did not enjoy them to a significantly greater degree than the thousands of similar tamales I've eaten.

One thing I will say about these tamales, though: they are juicy suckers, which I do like and which I do not find commonly in other, similar preparations of this chow.

Cogito wrote:David, have you ever tried Los Tamales on 16th St. in Cicero? They use a lot of the scarcer types of fillings, but availability changes constantly.

Cogito, thanks for the reminder (it had slipped my mind that you posted about these interesting tamales last November.

This place is near me, so I will definitely give it a shot.