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All Star Tamales
Categories: Restaurants Mexican Restaurants Food Stands Mexican, Food Stands [Edit]
Heart Of The City Farmers MarketUnited Nations Plz
San Francisco, CA 94102
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Jeremy G. said: "Nom nom. I got the Southwest Steak Salad with Cotija Queso dressing. What a journey that salad was. I loved every component from the steak to the roasted corn to the jicama. My friends entrees looked equally tempting, whether it…" read more »
64 reviews for All Star Tamales
Review Highlights
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"And the sweet corn is a mouthful of goodness." In 17 reviews -
"Spinach and cheese - super yummy." In 11 reviews -
"I bought a sweet corn tamale and a green pork tamale." In 6 reviews
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64 reviews in English
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Review from Monina C.
Daly City, CA
3/2/2012
YES YES YES! All I can say about their tamales is that it is truly YUM-EE! Place always gets busy, but worth the wait. Make sure to get some extra tamales for later, and grab extra of the red sauce!
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Review from Cherylynn N.
San Francisco, CA
8/18/2011 3 photos
TAMALES MIERCOLES!
*UNA ESTRELLA*: LARD FREE = Guilt-Free (Well, kinda...)
*UNA ESTRELLA*: 14 Tamale Varieties Including Green Pasilla, Picadillo, Chicken Mole, Pork Mole, Green Chile & Cheese, Green Pork, Red Pork, Black Bean & Cheese, Vegetable, Beef, Spinach & Cheese (My Fav), Red chicken, Green Chicken and Sweet Corn.
*UNA ESTRELLA*: GENEROUSLY PACKED WITH FILLING! Firm, yet soft fluffy corn masa nestled with meat, veggie and/or oooey goeeey cheese in EVERY bite!
*UNA ESTRELLA*: Awesome homemade pasilla (mild), tomatillo (mild), habanero (spicy) and chipotle (spicy) salsas that impart additional moisture, tang and a kick of heat!
Other Notes:
*Cash Only
*Tamales are 2 for $5 (cold) and 2 for $5.50 (hot)
*Breakfast burritos and enchiladas are also available
*TIPS FOR REHEATING: If frozen, thaw first then steam. Crunched for time? Wrap frozen tamale in wet paper towel and microwave.
MmMmM,delicioso! CUATRO ESTRELLAS!
This review was brought to you with the assistance of Google Translate. -
Review from Gloria N.
San Francisco, CA
11/2/2011
Try to get here a little before noon to avoid the lunch rush. We got here at 11:45 and waited less than 5 minutes.
The heated tamales are 2 for $5.50 and the cold tamales are 2 for $5. I really liked the green chicken, which was cooked perfectly and had a little bit of heat. Make sure to ask for hot sauces because they really add to the tamale. The sweet corn was good, but very sweet.
Definitely planning to come back next week! -
Review from Shirley N.
San Francisco, CA
7/21/2011
I love their tamales. They're all winners. Yesterday I had jury duty, and was excused around 11 a.m. Thought about where to go next, and then it hit me! All Stars is at Civic Center on Wednesdays. Woo Hoo!
Bought 3 cold tamales for $7.50. Hot ones are like $0.25 more expensive I think. You can get hot sauce in a little tiny container to accompany your tamale.
Went back to work, and zapped one in the microwave. Yummy, yum, yum.
First time I had the Tex Mex tamale. Great if you want to kick it up a tiny notch. -
Review from Vira P.
6/5/2011 3 photos
I LUUUV Tamales! And I love the fact that these tamales are made without lard!
I haven't tried them all, because I always go back to the chicken red mole tamale wrapped in a banana leaf. I think it's absolutely delicious! I also really like the sweet corn tamale.
Some people think $2.50 is expensive for a tamale, but I think they're worth it.
I blogged it: http://sexydishes.blog... -
Review from Pauline D.
Gilroy, CA
5/4/2011
Tamales without lard?? I didn't think it was possible but All Star definitely proved me wrong. Very wrong. Based in the East Bay, I'm glad they make a trek over to SF on a weekly basis so us Bay Area peeps can get our good eats on.
I loooove that they wrap many of their tamales in banana leaves, Oaxacan-style -- it imparts such a lovely fragrance that you don't get with corn husks. They have quite a few varieties to choose from, and I highly recommend the chicken mole! Flavorful, tender and so, so nommy.
I like that they have cold tamales available for purchase, too, in case you want to take them home for later, and they're good about packing enough red and green salsas to go along with 'em. Their super friendliness is just icing on the cake. -
Review from Vincent K.
San Francisco, CA
12/9/2010
A great thing about working at the civic center......which may change soon, is having the farmers market and Off the Grid events in my own backyard. With a short walk from my building to the UN plaza, one can enjoy a tasty yet inexpensive lunch with flavors from different cultures. In this case, tamales, one of my favorite foods with the right corn meal, made its way to my lunch menu one fateful day. With so many flavors....its going to take some time, and a plenty of Wednesday lunches to try em all. In the meantime:
-Chicken mole - bleh,something about it didn't do so well
-Black bean cheese chicken - this was really good -
Review from Monica W.
San Lorenzo, CA
12/16/2010
I think tamales are one of the best way to catch a cheap, well-portioned Mexican meal. I usually eat two tamales for lunch and I'm full.
All Star Tamales has a great selection of tamales, both vegetarian and meaty. They make their tamales without lard which is always a plus. These are the tamales I've sampled before:
* Spinach and cheese - super yummy.
* Sweet corn - the combination is a little too corny for me. There wasn't enough sweet corn to counterbalance the soft masa.
* Red chicken - a little dry for my taste, would not get this again.
* Chile and cheese - very good, wish it had more spice though.
* Chicken mole - better than the red chicken, the flavor of the mole was more noticeable than the red sauce.
I feel that the tamales with cheese have better flavor than the meat ones. They have 3 different types of hot sauce and I love to just drown my tamales in it. Tamales are $2.75 for one, $5 for 2 - the more you buy the higher the discount. You can get your tamales hot, or cold if you plan to save them and heat them at home. My one quibble is that the tamales are wrapped in saran wrap that's usually a little oily on the outside and I wish their sauce cups were larger. -
Review from Vanessa W.
San Francisco, CA
5/6/2009
ALL STAR Tamales deserves all the stars I've got.
I bought the sweet corn tamale and the chicken mole tamale.
2 for $5.
I wanted to sit down at the Civic Center Plaza by myself and enjoy my pipin' hot tamales. As I'm unwrapping my tamale, I get a call from my boyfriend..who reminds me that we were supposed to have lunch today.
And since I was in Tamale-Town, I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to get lunch for the two of us today. I jump up and go right back in line to get two more tamales.
Red chicken and red pork -- this time, it was 2 for $4. I look at the Tamale Boy ."Wha? I thought they were 2 for $5?"
He explains that if you buy more, they're cheaper. He was so sweet -- he remembered me, did the math and saved me a buck.
I love you Tamale Truck and Tamale boy.
Love,
Your Tamale Girl -
Review from Charmian D.
San Francisco, CA
8/1/2009 1 Check-in Here
"You're just too good to be true...can't take my eyes off of you...you'd be like heaven to touch...I wanna eat you so much..."
He was dreamy during his heydays but I'm not a big Frankie Valli fan...the song is just so fitting for this occasion
Well, I'm talking about the All Star Tamale truck come 12 pm on Wednesdays
My one year probation at work is coming up in 2 weeks and I'm surprised that it has only been recent that I've taken a crack on this Wednesday adventure to the All Star Tamale truck. Funny, I'm only a skip, jump away...
Like what my fellow yelper Black noted...it is unfortunate that they only come by Wednesdays at the UN for Farmer's Market day? Yes, the feeling is like waiting for Friday happy hour.
I've had the Vegetarian tamale among others. I haven't seen any of the yelpers mention the Vegetarian tamale which is fine with me because I'll be the proud first to say that the Vegetarian tamale is wonderful. They had broccoli, onions, tomato, potato, red bell peppers, etc. inside a sweet, thick corn meal wrap...piping hot with so much flavor & juices from the sauté. They're only $2.75 (some $2.50 each) or you can get two for $5. Not bad at all...
Don't go to back to your desk and have your coworkers & boss find you eating these lovelies...enjoy it in one of the outdoors seating area at the UN plaza while people watching and singing your songs by Frankie V (Personally...it's James Brown for me..."Can I take it to the bridge?!?)Listed in: M E X I C A N
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Review from Marti L.
5/5/2009
I love Tamale Wednesdays!
One is never enough.
Two makes me throw up.
My favs: green chicken, pork mole, picadillo, red pork, chicken mole, green pork. I just named half the menu!!
$2.75 for one. $5 for two.
Didn't know lard is used to make tamales. But no lard here!!
Hot diggity good stuff!! Wheeee!Listed in: Welcome to my 'hood!, Truck Me!
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Review from Cassie G.
New York, NY
4/20/2009
OH MY HELL!!!
These tamales are my new crack! I'm addicted to the Chicken Mole.
Buy them by the dozen - they freeze and heat nicely.
I *HEART* you All * -
Review from Lauren F.
Oakland, CA
3/14/2007
2 tamales for $5! Sweet!
Right at the start of the farmers market in the Civic Center you can find this little treasure. They have quite a few tamales to choose from, including numerous veggie options, and a sweet one for dessert!
What a way to spend a Wednesday lunch. Out in the sun, with just you, your tamales and some sauce.
Delightful. -
Review from Cynthia H.
Fremont, CA
3/1/2010
Yay for office tamale parties! A few people in my office decided to have a tamale party for lunch. We each ordered 1-2 tamales and paid only $2 each since we had a total of 14 tamales. We picked them up at their booth around 11:45 and 15 mins later, we all had our delicious, hot tamales!
I had the picadillo and green pork. Their online menu states that the green pork has carrots and potatoes inside, but mine did not. I looked at the label attached to the tamale and the ingredient list did not include carrots or potatoes. Maybe they need to update the website. I had a bite of my coworker's spinach and cheese and green chicken. Both were very good. I prefer the green sauce over the red one. The red one just tastes like tomato sauce. The green is bit spicier and actually tastes link a salsa. They have another hot/orange sauce that is pretty good.
Two thumbs up for pricing the tamales at $2 each for 13 or more! I enjoyed my tamales! Maybe another party for Cinco de Mayo? =D -
Review from Angela H.
Daly City, CA
9/3/2008
I'd gotten sick of eating from the same old things from the same old eateries at the Westfield Mall, so when my sister volunteered to pick some tamales for us from the farmer's market, I was thrilled. I had passed by the All Star Tamales stand a few times before, but had never stopped to actually pick some up- probably because it had always been after I had already eaten.
In any case, I was happy to see that my sister had picked up two different types- a green chicken and a beef tamale. The tamales are pretty hefty and each of them would make a sufficient meal for anyone. As for which I liked better, I would say that the beef was vastly preferred over the chicken. Not that the chicken was bad, but I really didn't like the cilantro in it. The red sauce was nice and spicy- it made the tamales that much more tasty.
So 3 stars for now, but I'm saving more stars for when I try the other tamales available. -
Review from Rae'esah N.
Antioch, CA
6/12/2008
I happened to be attending a seminar at the Whitcomb Hotel (WTF?) yesterday. On my way back to BART I stumbled upon All Star Tamales at the Civic Center Farmers Market.
I'm a sucker for a good tamale so I jaywalked myself across the street to snatch one up for my ride home. Yeah, I'm such a rebel.
They have like 15 different types from carnivarian to vegetarian so every one is in luck!
I had the beef and the meat was busting out the sides - delicious!
WAIT - it gets even better. The "factory" is in Pittsburg and since I live in Antioch I drive by it every day - I will be stopping in for large quantities on my way home next week.
Talk about easy dinners, easy lunches and easy weight gain! -
Review from T N.
Sausalito, CA
4/26/2007
The price is right, but the tamales somehow aren't...too much masa and not enough meat, which wasn't overwhelmingly fantastic on its own. I had one and brought one home to the bf, he seemed to enjoy his more than I did mine. I think I've just been spoiled by the most perfect tamales crafted by the hands of man at Guelagetza in L.A.
I like that they have a good selection of vegetarian options and that you can take your tamale hot or cold (and again, of course, the cheap factor) so I will try again at a future date and see if another taste alters my opinion.Listed in: Meh.
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Review from Christina C.
Berkeley, CA
9/14/2010
It was my first day of work so I arrive ridiculously early. But I was not suppose to meet my supervisor until 9am. Luckily, the Heart of the City Farmer's market was on the same day. As I strolled awkwardly around in my tennis shoes with holes on all 3 sides, carrying a huge canvas bag and looking like some liberal hippie, I spotted the tamales tent.
My first experience with tamales was with a nameless brown woman outside of Berkeley Bowl who was selling tamales out of her white van. $1 per tamale, 12 for $10. I had never had tamales before. In fact, I thought that tamales were these cinnamon candies that came in a box. Seriously, I didn't know what a tamale was. Apologies.
My second experience with tamales was with an older brown woman outside of Trader Joe's on 9th and Bryant. It cost me $2.25.
This experience had far more variety. They had 7 different flavors. And they were so organized. Did I want it hot, or togo? Did i want red or green sauce? Habanero too? I picked red chicken and beef. And I took all three sauces. One tamale was heated up and ready to eat. The other was cold.
Guess what happens when you put a hot tamale, a cold tamale, and 6 different containers of hot sauce that should be chilled, all together in one plastic bag and LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR OF YOUR OFFICE that has rugs the color of cream? Fermentation! Halfway through the workday, I heard two separate "pops" and I thought I broke something, or something was exploding or there was an emergency. I don't know.
It turns out that closed containers with salsa and other equally fermentable ingredients expand and explode. Science. Crazy, huh? Good thing the plastic bag they gave me was super durable.
The service was great and the woman who sold them to me had a great attitude. I don't think I'm a tamales girl. But I like the way they walk. -
Review from Rachel D.
Los Angeles, CA
7/20/2009
Since moving back from New York I've been gorging on Mexican food, because you can't get the good stuff on the east coast, and believe me I tried. I never especially loved tamales, but my co-workers introduced me to All-Star at the farmers market. Stuffing myself with tamales every Wednesday restores the appropriate Mexican-food balance in my body, and quickly catapults me over that mid-week hump.
I haven't tried them all yet, but I like the spinach & cheese better than any of the meat ones I've had. The fact that they are cheaper the more you buy creates an irresistable incentive. Now that I know they freeze well, I'm going to LOAD UP. -
Review from LM M.
Vallejo, CA
10/14/2010
+4 stars for having a variety of tamales to choose from. I've tried several different kinds and have not been disappointed at all.
+1 star for being hella cheap.
See you all on Wednesdays. -
Review from Dan B.
San Francisco, CA
10/17/2007
Can food from a truck be good?
The tamales started off good but steadily declined to just ok with each passing Wednesday at the Farmer's Market.
I use to always get two tamales: one cheese and spinach and either a red chicken or a mole chicken. And for five dollars, I was content.
Unfortunately, there was a steady decline in stuffing and an increase in corn meal.
The final straw was the two weeks in a row I got cheddar and green chile when I ordered the cheese and spinach. Not that I minded the cheddar and green chile, but there's just wasn't enough of either ingredient to appreciate.
Off in search of my next lunch spot. -
Review from Veronica H.
Fremont, CA
3/24/2008
Wednesdays (Farmer's Market). Tamales. I'm there.
If you're in the mood for something sweet, I would recommend trying their sweet corn tamales. I love them and i'm glad they are fully stocked with this type of tamale seeing as most places only have the traditional savory tamales. However, if you're in the mood for something savory, the chicken or pork tamales are good too. They are stuffed with a generous amount of meat plus veggies such as carrots and potatoes. There is a good variety - at least 8 or so different kinds. Once you get your tamales, be sure to visit the "sauce bar" located on the side and pour some red or green sauce over them. Yum!
The line gets long due to business people in the area between the hours of 12-1 so I would recommend coming here either before or after. You can request a cold tamale if you aren't planning to eat them anytime soon and would rather take it home for a later time. I usually spend about $8-10 for a couple tamales. If you are planning to eat on location, there is a fountain nearby with room for "seating". -
Review from Black K.
Oakland, CA
By far the BEST lunch option for your tamale taste buds in the Civic Center area. The only downside is the tamales are only available on Wed's during the Civic Center Farmer's market. After that, you have to catch this act on the road.
At only $2.50-$2.75 a pop, with a wide selection to choose from, All Star is a must stop for anyone with a tamale addiction.
Don't let the loooooooong line scare you away at lunch time. The line tends to move quickly since many of the regulars already know the drill when comes to ordering. No need to "name" the tamale you want-just say the "number" and its all good.
Even though I'm a red meat, kill it all, meat lover, my favorite All Star tamale is the Spinach and Cheese... Super delicious.... -
Review from Vanessa T.
Brooklyn, NY
8/8/2008
Oh my jesus. THE BEST TAMALES IN THE WORLD!
I used to wake up early just to go to farmer's market and have two of these babies. My favorites are spinach & cheese and green chili & cheese. The green sauce goes perfect with the tamales. Now I must say they did raise the prices over the years, but with all the people hovering around the cart, why wouldn't they? The tamales come out hot and are served on little disposable dishes. I love the street vendor style and I love All Star Tamales. -
Review from Karen L.
San Francisco, CA
5/14/2007
All Star Tamale gets four stars for their wide selection and prices - 2 tamales for $5 is pretty good. And if you want some for later, you can also buy cold packaged tamales that can be put in the freezer for two weeks.
Although it's cheap, I do think they could put a little more meat in the tamale. With that, it's not as good as the Tamale Lady, but if you're in the area on a Wednesday and in search of a cheap lunch, All Star Tamale can be good. -
Review from Alex Kara W.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2009
Wednesdays are a long day at Escuela de Legal Eagle, so before my two hours of property class I always try to get to All Star Tamales. Nothing makes me feel better than transferring title to a tamale from my wallet to my stomach.
but seriously, the Picadillo tamale is my favorite, well seasoned beef and veggies in a delicious sauce, made all the better by mixing the salsas verde y Roja.
I like the pollo verde as well, and most of the other flavors are quite tasty although, unlike the previous reviewers the spinach and cheese is my least favorite. -
Review from Jean K.
1/18/2008
A wide selection of tamales to choose from - including different styles of pork, chicken, and vegetarian.
Tamales are pretty big so one ($2.75) is good for a lite lunch, two ($5) is very filling (especially if you choose to try out the other food at the market).
I like the red pork best. In general, I like the pork more than the chicken. My only complaint is that the masa to filling ratio is too much towards the masa.
Bike Parking: designated bike racks in front of the SF Art Institute.Listed in: Tour de Truck
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Review from Jay V.
South San Francisco, CA
12/12/2008
Ohhh man. Working just a mere two blocks away on Van Ness, I probably frequent this place at least 2 times a month when they are there on Wednesday's.
Tons to choose from, but my favorite is the Spinach and Cheese tamale, and the Chicken Mole. So good. 2 for $5 is a steal compared to some places, not to mention that it's also really good and filling. Working in the city, you really can't get much for $5 for lunch unless you sacrifice quality, but this place is worh the $5.
Their "stuffing" to corn ratio is excellent. I've eaten tamales where it was 90% corn, and 10% stuffing. This place is quite the exception. I can say that you will get the innards of your tamale in 9 our of 10 bites. So you aren't get cheated out of your food and just grinding down on corn meal. You will def get your fill though with 2.
They are only there on Wednesday's, but I think i read that they soon will add another day in which they will be there.
Advice for noobies: Try and decide what you want BEFORE you get up to the ordering table. Although there is usually 3-4 people working in there, if you take long, the help sometimes make you feel rushed because of the sheer amount of people in the line. -
Review from Sandhya R.
Los Angeles, CA
8/12/2009
Vegetarians rejoice!
No lard, and 6 veggie choices (half the menu I think), one of them vegan. The chili and cheese one is amazing. And the sweet corn is a mouthful of goodness. FYI, the red salsa is not at all spicy - the green salsa is delish.
And, we got 17 for $35! Everything above 12 tamales is $2/tamale, and 12 tamales is $25.
They even have a few tables outside where you can sit (if you get there early enough).
So, to summarize: great food, great deal, great choices. Too bad it's only here on wednesdays! -
Review from Carol N.
San Francisco, CA
5/3/2007
Excellent tamales!! They have a huge variety, even vegetarian! I bought 3 red chicken and 3 red pork tamales for home. They have the green, the mole, etc. So much to choose from! The flavor of the chicken tamale was very good. It was not over spiced nor too salty. There was not too much masa and it was very moist.
The price is right at $2.50 each and there is a discount when you buy more.
Too bad I don't work close to the farmer's market where All Star Tamales has it's stand! -
Review from Adam B.
9/16/2009
By far the longest line of the Civic Center Farmer's Market. The line moves fast so you know it's a factor of being popular, not just insanely slow service (like other Mexican places at other Farmer's Markets). Each tamale is surrounded by a firm, yet not too dry corn masa then wrapped in a corn husk and then wrapped in plastic. They are very accommodating about wrapping stuff to go and giving you containers of red and green salsa in case you don't feel like dining al fresco with the residentially-challenged of the neighborhood.
Picadillo: Slow cooked beef with carrots and a trace of potatoes. Kinda of like a dry stew inside a tamale. Nice spicy kick on the inside.
Chicken Mole: Very fine chicken particles with a mole dusting. Succulent and juicy, but I would have preferred large chunks of chicken. The mole flavoring is nice, but they could stand to be more generous with it. My least favorite of the batch.
Red Pork: Mexican slow cooked pork, you can never go wrong! The light spices add a bit of extra flavor, but the moist pork really doesn't need much help. I didn't even dare add salsa to this one!
Sweet Corn: A dessert tamale? The butter, sugar and sweet corn niblets transform the masa into a very sweet paste. Unlike other tamales, there isn't a filling, rather a sweet paste blend throughout. The first few bites are novel and nice, but then it grows tiresome. The texture reminds me of the inside of a Japanese bean cake, definitely something you can appreciate but wouldn't want a huge portion of. -
Review from Jennifer L.
Berkeley, CA
12/28/2010
I love the fact that I work near to the farmer's market. But beyond being able to buy my weekly produce, it also means that lunch on Wednesdays is Tamales! I have never seen a truck operate with such precision and efficiency as All Star Tamales. You can join a line of twenty people and in less than five minutes be placing your order, selecting from about ten different options, including vegetarian. I can't wait until Wednesday!
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Review from Magnus B.
San Francisco, CA
11/14/2007
Great for lunch. On a sunny day the atmosphere at the market is really nice, people eating and chatting, hanging out, people watching. On market day, regular people seem to have displaced the bums and druggies that usually hang out at the UN Plaza.
I had the tomoatillo pork tamale - really good, especially the sauce. A little much bread in relation to filling, maybe. And they messed up my colleague's order, giving me chicken instead of veggie. Luckily for me she isn't actually vegetarian, so I didn't have to go back and try to exchange it.
There are bike racks at the market, and biking or walking are the ideal ways to get here and enjoy the market. -
Review from SF Luncher z.
San Francisco, CA
4/4/2008
With 14 different tamales to choose from, I had to asked the guy in the hood jacket for guidance. He told me the 2 most popular items there were the red chicken and green chile cheese. I liked the fact that not only is the food cheap, but it's also discounted based on the quantity you buy. After paying the man $5, he handed me 2 large tamales wrapped nicely in plastic with ingredient labels. I anxiously took my goodies back to the office and pour on their homemade sauce. Taking one big bite, I noticed how the masa was moist and plump. The shredded chicken filling was flavored just right though they could've added more. The chile cheese tamale with Anahiem chiles, cheddar and mozzarella cheese was even better.
See a video of the place @ http://sf-lunch.com/20... -
Review from Jim O.
San Francisco, CA
10/29/2009
It's good. Not the tamale lady across from Monterey Market selling out of the back of her truck good, but still good.
One star off because it's pricey for a tamale. -
Review from irene k.
San Francisco, CA
4/9/2008
I just came back from a trip to Chiapas, Mexico where I fell in love with tamales. My husband and I had the most heavenly sweet corn tamales that were cooked by a family of women who sold only tamales (right from the steamer!) from their small storefront. Tamales are traditional to that part of Mexico, so I know it's not totally fair comparing ones made in San Francisco to them, but still.
My sister told me about the tamales at the farmer's market, so I knew that I absolutely had to try them. I bought a sweet corn tamale and a green pork tamale. Right away I should have known something was wrong when I got them in my hand and they were so heavy! I like my tamales to be on the lighter side because it generally means that there is more corn in the mix and that it is in the right amount.
The green pork tamale had a generous helping of pork, but too much of the corn masa. Normally I wouldn't mind this (corn and potatoes are my favorite staples!), but the masa was such that the natural flavor of the corn was really lost. It was disappointing that they add sugar to the sweet corn ones, since it should be "sweet corn" tamales, not "sweet" corn tamales, if that makes sense.
So I guess my search for good tamales here in the city shall continue.... -
Review from Veronica G.
San Francisco, CA
12/22/2008
" 'Tis the season for tamales fa la la la, lala la la!"
Although tamales are pretty much good any time of year, they are exceptionally good around the holidays. Like most Latino families both sides of mine do the time honored tradition of gathering 'round abuelita's table for slathering of the masa on the corn husk. It's a fun filled Spanglish speaking event that dupes us all into a couple hours of work with the promise of oodles of food afterwards. Yum! Still it's a time consuming process so its always good to find a tasty substitute for family made.
As any good tamale lover knows, there is more than one type of tamale. Most are savory but some are sweet. Some come wrapped in banana leaves, some in corn husks. I'm happy to report that their menu has plenty of varieties of both styles of wrap. This is also a good way to determine what regional style your tamale is from. I'm all about the corn husk variety. I love picking off scraps of masa left behind. My chicken tamale went from being my lunch to being my walking snack. The beef tamales made it to my destination but didn't last more than 5 minutes through the door. I shoved the saran wrapped little suckers into the deep pockets of my coat and learned an extra bonus about warm, wrapped tamales: they make fantastic hand warmers! Seriously, those puppies stayed warm for at least a half hour. If you plan to reheat and eat later you can order your tamales cold, but I can't fathom such self control. They give you one of each sauce per tamale (red and green and not just to go with the holiday motif).
These folks set up shop once a week during The Heart Of The City Farmer's Market. I totally dig their booth with their sign in the front proclaiming "TAMALES!". Just like that too, all capitals and an exclamation point to boot! I love this quirky little add on because really tamales are a siren call to me and frankly deserve a little peppiness to the proclamation of their presence. Many other people too see this happy sign and flock here around lunch hour and the line can easily be 30-40 deep. But for a warm filling lunch, 2 for $5 is hard pressed to beat almost anywhere in SF. The folks working here are really efficient and extremely nice. Thank you thank you thank you All Star Tamales for giving me a reason to look forward to Wednesdays almost much as going to my abuela's home for the holidays! Cheers! -
Review from Helen L.
11/10/2010
I haven't eaten such tasty and meaty tamales. The salt level was just right. Yes, the sauce that comes with it really complements the taste. A big YUM. Eating one just fills you up! Something to look forward to on Wednesdays. Yes, the lady who takes the money is so nice. I love people who are people friendly!
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Review from ashton c.
San Francisco, CA
6/10/2008
hot diggity damn I love this place. The green chilie cheese, the sweet corn, the chicken Mole, the beef, mmmm they are all so good! The line is getting absurd but don't worry - it moves fast...
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Review from Stephen Y.
San Francisco, CA
9/15/2010
Had the pleasure of trying All Star Tamales today at lunch. Ordered the red pork, beef, and sweet corn. I was never a fan of tamales due to the fact I never had a good one... usually super dry and crumbly. All Star Tamales were rich in flavor, moist, and a good size so you can try various meats in one seating. 5-stars for the sweet corn tamales... what a nice finish for a dessert... hate to even compare this to Chevy's but one of my favorite things at Chevy's is the sweet cornmeal on the side underneath the orange cactus chip; the sweet corn tamale was just that but MORE!!!! And we all know MORE is BETTER!
