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The Tamale Guy
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
198 reviews for The Tamale Guy
Some nights when I do not want to cook I contemplate tracking Tamale Guy to get dinner. I mean 5$ for 6 of those pork tamales with the salsa verde is a damn good deal and tasty, too. Then I realize that while it would be an awesome dinner it makes me worry about my abilities to function as a human being - you know, not being able to just make my own dinner.
Hmm, then again, tamales are sounding really good right now.
Excellent tamales!
The only thing better would be to combine the services of The Tamale Guy with that guy who rolls up and down Milwaukee Ave. in the globe at bar time.
Dear Tamale Guy,
FEED ME!
I need those heavenly tamales now! With salsa verde.
Once I hear "TAMALES! TAMALES!" I start drooling. Like Pavlov's classically conditioned dogs.
I guess that makes me the Tamale Guy's bitch.
I can eat the fuck out of those tamales right now.
This guy is FANTASTIC. Don't be alarmed or sketched out when you see him and people flocking to him for the tamales out of his cooler. This is good old fashioned people to people business at it's best!
I never even heard of the Tamale Guy until last week. While on a serious pub crawl a thought popped into my head, "man I gotta have something to line the old stomach". Then in walks this guy yelling "Tamales! Tamales!
I order a ziplock bag with about six chicken tamales, he even gives me napkins to go with it. The guy disappears after I devour my first tamale. I start on the second and a few patrons are coveting my treasures. So I share some with the fair sex, and tell the men to order pretzels.
Were these Tamales really good or was it my inebriated state that affected mytaste buds. I choose to believe in the legend! The Tamales are among the best I have had and Mr. Tamale should be granted sainthood. The parton saint of pub crawlers.
Tamale Guy t-shirts! http://scaredpanda.com...
The little red cooler cartoon is our view into the world of the Chicago Tamale Guy that we have now put onto a t-shirt. Tamale! Tamale! is the first of hopefully many t-shirts to roll off the Scared Panda production line. The design is symbolic of all that is good in the world of late night eats in Chicago. You know the nights, you're hungry but you just put $8 into the jukebox at Innertown, so you're not going anywhere. When all of a sudden, out of the shadows of the bar, you hear those few powerful words, "Tamale! Tamale!" and out pops that great man and his little red cooler packed with delicious goodness. $5 and a few queso tamales later you are back to tapping your foot enjoying your PBR.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/27/2009
I love these guys and their tamales. They cannot do wrong by me. Gapers Block did a great article on… Read more »
Dear Tamale Guy,
I realize that you are probably already married. I'm sure your current wife is lovely and helps you make all those magic tamales you shill to drunks in Bucktown, Ukie Village, and the Wickaaaaa.
Hell, maybe you beat the crap out of your current wife. Maybe you force her at knifepoint to make those tamales. Maybe she cries at night because her hands are rubbed raw from folding the corn husks around the magic tamale goodness and you keep her chained in a basement cell with only corn husks to eat.
But I do not care.
Because I love you Tamale Guy. And no amount of violence or husks or tiny cages will temper my love or cause me to forsake you.
Tamale Guy, run away with me. Run away with me and we will be married. And if you are already in a loveless marriage but don't want to get divorced because your Catholic relatives will shun you, then just run away with me in general.
Please bring your little insulated bag of hot, fresh tamales - $5 per bag of 6 tamales with napkins and salsa verde and that red salsa that isn't as good but comes with just the same.
And we will ride off into the sunset.
I love you,
Stacey
What makes the Tamale guy so special to me is his dedication to coming out even on the coldest of winter nights to sell tamales to a crowd of drunkards. The tamale's are pretty good too! I don't even know what his route or schedule is like. All I know is that I've seen him in Bucktown AND in Lincoln Square. Those two spots are pretty far from each other, but he arrives just in time as you start wondering whether or not the bar you're at sells food to feed your cravings. These Tamales beat bar food any day! They disappear pretty quickly if you're hungry so make sure you get enough before he's gone!
The guy probably makes a fortune selling tamales to the late night bar crowd.
Excellent concept, well received and appreciated.
Bravo!
There is a legend. How much truth is there in the legend? Impossible to say.
This is how the legend goes: It is late at night, and you are sitting in a dive bar in Chicago. You have been drinking heavily, and you are hungry. But oh, you poor soul, what are your options? A bowl of popcorn or pretzels? An overpriced bag of Flamin' Hot Funyuns they have tacked to the wall behid the bar? That smashed Clif bar in the bottom of your backpack?
And that's when he arrives. The Tamale Guy. Bearing packs of tamales. $5 for six delicious pork or chicken tamales, lovingly handcrafted by the Tamale Elves. It's like a goshdern miracle, is what it's like.
But before you can even thank him, he's gone; laying a finger on one side of his nose, he vanishes in a swirling cloud of corn meal. On to the next hungry drunk. Was it even real? Did it really happen?
They say all legends have a grain of truth to them. I won't tell you what to believe. You have to make up your own minds.
But as for me? I choose to believe in all that is decent and wonderful. I choose to believe that there's a little bit of magic left in this world.
I believe in the Tamale Guy.
I've lived in Chicago for almost three years, and at this point I do believe I could be considered an official Chicago kid. After all, I have
1. been robbed, and
2. purchased tamales from a tamale guy.
Yes, $5 for six tamales at the L&L -- I chose queso and ate four. Don't judge me, it's a lifestyle. Welcome to Chicago.
Tamales, Tamales, Tamales.
Like calling Beetleguise, or sending Dorthy back home. Say it three times and he will appear. How many tamale guys are their? Has to be more than one. Like Santa, he can't possibly make it to every bar in one night.
The tamale guy just seems to be second nature at this point. I read a review of him having a car, but we all know he has a moped with that igloo cooler on the back. Or maybe the second tamale guy has a car? I have seen the tamale guy in my favorite places and he never disappoints. $5 for 6 tamales in your choice of chicken, cheese or beef. Ziplock bag with complementary sauces and napkins. Oh my.
One time an older guy saw me buying tamales at Phylisses Musical Inn and said "you actually eat those?" I then replied," buddy I planned this as my dinner for the night." My fiance knows as well as my friends, that the tamale guy is one of Chicago's hidden gems. I will walk into a bar and they will say,"you just missed the tamale guy" with an upsetting tone. As if saying your Lotto ticket was off by one.
A couple weeks ago the greatest thing happened. I was at Happy Village and he showed up.... he must have heard my stomach growling. Not 15 minutes later another tamale guy walked in.
Twice in one night? This guy is better than Santa.
$5 for a sack full of hot, delicious tamales that get delivered directly to your barstool.
the green sauce is spicy. i know this because someone spilled some on my leg and it tingled for hours. it's better now.
After hearing all the hoopla and praise for this local phenomenon, I finally got a chance to taste the famous Tamale Guy's tamales. I've seen him before, but never had the desire to try one of his late night saviors.
The last time I had a tamale was 1988 at the tender age of 8 and I came to the conclusion I did not like tamales. I heard this guy had some good stuff, so I gave it a shot last night at the California Clipper when he showed up. Such a disappointment! I did not really care for the tamales at all. I was nice, but i was not wasted. Maybe I have to be wasted to enjoy them, at least thats what I was told.
Why 3 stars? Well I commend a guy that runs around selling tamales, $5 for a bag of 6 to drunkards like myself in various areas. I think he is really a cool guy, but I'm just not into tamales
Who isn't interested in a man who goes home every afternoon, makes hot tamale's and comes right to you, like a good friend, or your mom, who wants to feed you...for a price?
Sometimes I feel...so sad...when he goes to another table with his cooler full of tasty.
Truly, you know the deal though. Approximately $5, 6 tamales...but there isn't just ONE tamale guy....there are many, and they are all competing for business.
At one point in time my boyfriends friend wanted only 3 tamales, not 5, so he bargained with the man who was reluctant, but then gave in and gave him 3. If I were the tamale guy I would have pocketed the other two...in my mouth.
Oh yes, and plastic baggies. Very pro quality.
Mmm-hmmmm.
No night is complete without a visit from the Tamale Guy. Five dollars for six homemade, scrumptious tamales? What, are you nuts? DO IT. The queso ones are a personal fave.
My friends and I use him as a "timer" of sorts when we are out on weeknights: "OK, guys, I'll have another beer - but I'm only staying until the Tamale Guy comes!"
The green sauce that comes with it is sublime. One of my friends started a conversation with Mr. TG about said sauce, and the next week the Tamale Guy brought him an entire Tupperware container full of the stuff! Customer service: above and beyond.
I don't know how he does it. My birthday night out was last night, and my friends and I were imbibing happily at the Bob Inn. One friend says, "I wish the tamale guy would come." I swear on everything sacred, not four minutes later we heard him: "Tamales! Tamales!"
It was insane. And there he was! And he had a great night too because all he had left were puerca tamales. We got 2 bags...two of his last bags. 6 in a bag, you can't go wrong. How did you know, Tamale Man...how did you know we were calling for you??
Never pass up the Tamale Guy - soooo good!
If you crave the tamales track him on twitter - http://twitter.com/tam...
"seis para cinco" o "dos packas para diez my friend"
"pollo, puerco, o queso" ...do yourself a favor and get them all. the worst is not getting enough and wanting more. even if you don't eat meat you do now... you're drunker than drunk, about ready to go down on someone who is at least a triple bagger and now you worry about where you get your proteins?
please;p
complete with salsa verde, napkins and plastic forks(no sporks) its the perfect chaser to a night of woooohoo shots and beers...no line no wait, claudio comes to you as if summoned by your culo( Mayday Mayday we need to plug this hole NOW!)
if you don't know, be smart enough to pretend and be nice to the guy.
he will feel the force and guide you properly into position and soon you too will know the secret of the morning after tamale wrapper filled bed.
Hilarity.
Last night at Goldie's I witnessed the Tamale Man in all his glory. He was walking around, pitching his usual "Tamales, tamales, tamales!" and this crazy drunk girl was just like "What?!"
He proceeded to get really close to her face and just yell "tamales" at her until she just turned around.
I love you, Tamale Man.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/20/2008
This man is like a fairy.
Every time I get drunk, he's just there. Bob Inn, Beachwood, Green Eye...… Read more »
There has been some question as to whether the tamales that the Tamale Guy serves are any good if you're not blasted out of your mind. In the name of science (and eyes being bigger than my stomach while quasi-drunk) after seeing the Tamale Guy at Blind Robin recently, I took some of his delectable treasures home in their ziploc bag of love.
Popping them in the microwave the next morning, entirely sober, they served as an excellent brunch. Science proves a win for Tamale Guy! Hooray science!
I am a little disappointed in Claudio (and his apparent clone tamale guys) as of late, however. I used to think he was a west side institution as I had never seen him north of Diversey. But now I find out he's cheating on my side of town with north siders (which served me fine on Saturday at Goldie's as I had neglected to eat dinner, but still).
But I guess it's bad to be selfish as $5 for six very large tamales (and probably the best cheese tamales this herbivore has ever had) is about the best deal going right now - period. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late night. Claudio should not only be shared with the rest of Chicago, but the rest of the world.
That is so long as he lets me know when he's parked near my apartment to serve The Whistler and the Two-Way so I can get a cheap, amazing late dinner even sober.
Tamales!? Tamales!? Tamales!?
Yes please! Yes please! Yes please!
I love this guy. He's an entrepreneur in the greatest sense of the word. While he is probably not the first nor the last "Tamale guy," I have a great respect for someone who has an idea and isn't afraid of a little hard work. And man, the Tamale Guy works his ass off.
All you have to do is think about him, and he shows up, right where you are. But you have to act quickly, because he's gone just as quickly as he showed up.
The tamales are great--the cheese are my favorites, and, with the long strip of chile down the center, pack a little kick. While the first time I fell in love with the Tamale Guy's wares I was a bit inebriated, I've eaten them sober and they pass the test. Love it.
Seriously this guy rocks!
Best tamale's ever! It never fails he always shows up!
Oh, Tamale Guy, how you have saved me many a late night. I don't even have to leave my watering hole, let alone my bar stool, in order to have a piping hot delicious snack (complete with sauce) before hailing a cab back to my humble abode.
p.s. can I add that it is AWESOME that he has his own spot for reviews?
the tamale guy rules!
does everybody know you can track where he is on twitter?
@tamaletracker
Well what do you know, they're good sober too!
Excellent tamales, always hot and fresh. He always shows up at the Green Eye exactly when you need him.
If tamale guy had an actual restaurant I'd eat there all the time!
A minor wonder of Chicago.
One wonders, though, about the always cute, but earnest to the point of vaguely cult-y, young women who wander the city's bars selling vegetarian sushi and egg rolls.
I hadn't seen him in FOREVER and then one night he popped into Delilah's......my friend & I were standing outside, but we knew to act on it while he was there. SO GLAD WE DID. While my other friend laughed when we walked in with our bag of tamales, she was happy we bought them as she ate half of them!
I can never find a tamale vendor when I need one during the day, but at night...I know I can count on Claudio at some point in time! Sober. Drunk. They're delicious. Plus, he's a really nice guy. How can you NOT like him?
I've been a big fan of the tamale guy since moving to Chicago, especially since I was a big fan of the tamale lady while hanging in Tucson.
Since the fruition of CTA bus tracker, I thought wouldn't it be great if we had a tracker for the tamale guy. Not being so IT Savvy, I hammered the idea into my friend Clint's brain. Thus, he developed tamale tracker via twitter. That's right kids, this social sourcing tweeting device is taking off with hopefully the help of you fellow Yelpers. Next time you see the tamale guy, tweet his location so fellow Chicagoans can track him down. The favor will undoubtedly be returned when you are seeking tamales yourself by following this twitter group..http://twitter.com/tam... !
Thanks again to C-Bomb for setting this up...
Here's a link to an interview he did for Chicago Public Radio's show 8:48
http://www.chicagopubl...
Clint explains this wonderful device at the minute 4:40 mark.
Now go spread your tamale tracking news!
My friends variously see ghosts, subscribe uncritically to orthodox Leninism, worship Barack Obama or less savoury establishment politicians, or believe, insanely, that everything will be and is all right. I maintain a dour secular and skeptical position in the midst of all this--but I can't account for the way the Tamale Man always shows up exactly when we need or want tamales in bars, or in front of junk stores like Village Thrift, on the north side. It's uncanny. The day this adventurous pard-spirit comes to Hyde Park will be the day I put down roots here and take out a mortgage.
just when you think your night can't get any better....in will walk tamale guy.
he needs a cape and a big capital T on his shirt.
What's not to like? He brings hot food where there is none to speak of and at the exact moment it's needed it has seemed. No waiting, leaving your seat, or summoning waitstaff.
A couple from (not here) asked who he was and what he was doing and I explained about the goodness. A few minutes later I noticed they were half way through the bag with befuddled expressions as they'd been eating them husk and all.
I sometimes wonder how they defend their territory as it's a genius idea but there is no competition and I'm glad.
"Should I be eating these, is it safe? Fuck it."
That's the attitude to have when propositioned to buy food from a guy selling tamales out of a cooler. Are they really all that good, not so much. Are they what the doctor ordered when shit hosed, yes.
CLAUDIO!!! I LOVE YOU!!!
Queso tamales with salsa verde, do it, you won't regret it! They're smaller than the usual tamale from a restaurant or the kind your grandma used to make (if you were freaking' lucky enough to have a grandma who used to make tamales)...but this only makes them perfect for dipping into the little dixie containers of salsa...
The absolute perfect midnight drinking snack, fcuk that White Castle crap!
Tamale Man:
I do not know if it is your tamales that make me love you, or the sheer romanticism and honesty of how you make a dollar. It's almost beautiful how symbiotic your relationship with the drunken white people of Chicago is. The trust between us is so natural...so inherent.
The first time I saw you, it was like we had always been friends. I never once questioned your tamales in their primitive home made packaging. I just devoured them wordlessly and without concern for my own safety and health. It proved to be the right decision.
I once knew someone who questioned you and criticized those who place their trust in you. It was then I knew this man was not for me. Thank you, Tamale Guy. You probably spared me from a long and pointless relationship.
I had heard whispers of the legend that is "The Tamale Guy" for quite a while. He stopped in Lemmings one night with his soft coolers ready to give a bunch of drunks their dinner on a Wednesday night. The chicken tamales were really good.
We were having a party that weekend and I asked if he could drop some food off. When I told him we'd order at least 30 tamales his eyes lit up and he gave me his number. He had an extremely difficult time finding an address 2 blocks from Lemmings, but everything worked out in the end. Everyone at the party who hadn't heard of him were frightened when our "caterer" delivered the food in ziplock bags. More for us!
Ooooh, the pork tamales.
They are addictive.
Keep up the good work, Tamale Guy!
Con amor,
Tu reina
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/22/2008
Last time I saw Tamale Guy I was finally able to express my true feelings for him. I put my arm… Read more »
Tamale guy OWNS! HE OWNS! If you don't like tamale guy you are probably either sober, vegan, or combination of both.
