The Tamale Lady
Category: Food Street Vendors Street Vendors [Edit]
Mission StSan Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 218-1443
- Hours:
Wed-Thu 6 pm - 2 am
Fri, Sun 5 pm - 2 am
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
340 reviews for The Tamale Lady
Review Highlights
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340 reviews in English
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Review from Phuong M.
San Francisco, CA
1/16/2012
This woman consistently hits the spot. I couldn't say much more than what everyone else has already said, but she has a magical ability to appear just when you need her.
"I'm hungry. Should i run across to the pizza place?" / "Barbecue or sausages?" / "I just got a beer, but i don't want to leave to get food."
*POOF*
"Oh shit! Tamale Lady is here!"
Seriously. -
Review from Young L.
San Francisco, CA
9/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's a Friday at 5pm. Weather is great. I'm sitting outside at Zeitgeist. I have a few drinks in me and I'm hungry. BOOM. tamale lady magically appears.
yeah it's a little pricy but come on, the food comes to you. it's tasty, the sauce is great, and goes great with beer. Tamale Lady nails it.
I wish the tamales were twice as large so I could eat more of it. I guess I could just buy two. problem solved. -
Review from Athena S.
9/9/2011
Lady, you seem to appear when you are most needed.
Ever-changing prices depending on the day and location? That makes you loose one star, Senora.
who cares. I'm still a fan. -
Review from Loli L.
San Francisco, CA
12/6/2011
How can you not love this woman? She brings me tamales, a fork, and a smile right when I need them most. I heart her.
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Review from Carolyn F.
San Francisco, CA
8/24/2011
After tasting tamales from All Star Tamales, I have seen the light. No more will I be seduced into buying the dry, masa-overloaded tamales peddled by the Tamale Lady. Too many times have I been drunkenly fooled into getting one of these lumps, only to be disappointed by too little filling, too little sauce, and too much dry tasteless masa.
I don't want to sound OG here, but back in the day years and years ago, the Tamale Lady made a darn fine and cheap tamale. I remember them costing $2.50. But the last four times were no bueno. And $5 for one now?! (Tip: If you act shocked by the price, she might lower it by $1)
Still, I might have continued to buy them if I hadn't tasted the red and green pork tamales from All Star. I had forgotten masa could have flavor. I had forgotten what the ratio of filling to masa should be. I had forgotten really cheap tamales can still include fresh ingredients other than just meat and cheese.
So the next time I am drunk and see that cooler rolling by, I'm going to hold out and get a slice of pizza. -
Review from death p.
Los Angeles, CA
9/14/2011
YES!!
thats what instantly goes through my mind when the tamale lady shows up in the mission or at zeitgeist. shes awsome, her tamales are really good & the sauce compliments all her tamales.. chicken, veggie, & cheese perfectly. -
Review from Robert M.
San Francisco, CA
8/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
My wife and I were hammered at Shotwell's when Tom asks us if we want tamales.
"I thought this place didn't serve food."
"It doesn't, but she does"
"who?"
"her"
in through the door walks a little lady dragging two coolers full of cornmeal goodness. We had cheese and chicken tamales delivered right to our table. Fantastic. Five stars, Tamale Lady! -
Review from Johan E.
San Francisco, CA
11/7/2011
$5 for a tamale is simply too much to pay for these, as they aren't even that great. But I gotta respect her business, ripping of rich white drunk people. Props to her for that one.
You're better off heading to 24th for tamales, either from someone on the street or somewhere good like La Palmas. -
Review from Sara P.
San Francisco, CA
9/21/2011
Ohhhh elusive Tamale Lady... only luck brought us together. Back when I used to go the the mission before a certain someone was literally BANNED from the neighborhood, I stumbled into the Tamale Lady. Literally, stumbled...out of Zeitgeist and she was right there. I couldn't believe my luck. I had a cheese tamale, the boys had chicken. The sauce was perfectly spicy. Just what I needed. I wish she would magically appear in the financial district during lunchtime...
Listed in: SF Lovin'
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Review from Jade W.
7/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
In my hood we have lots of tamale ladies packing goodness in a cooler.
Around the holiday times, if your family doesn't partake in the madness that is tamale making in sweatshop like conditions, no breaks, cooking all day and people arguing over how much masa to meat ratio is best you relay on your local tamale door-to-door ladies.
But my family does do this every year and my mom has replaced my grandmother as the tamale matriarch. After trying the Tamale ladies tamales I told my mom (and my grandma) that her tamales were better than theirs.
They were angry. -
Review from SisterMable S.
San Francisco, CA
10/13/2011
Virginia's tamales are the best in town.
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Review from Tammy T.
San Francisco, CA
6/4/2011
+ size (1 is enough for 2 people), so not bad for $5/each
+ she knows where to be at the right place/time
She is awesome. I hope I run into her again. -
Review from Steve H.
San Francisco, CA
9/25/2011
$5 now? It's just not worth it anymore Shameful tamale lady. Shameful.
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Review from Mayling C.
San Francisco, CA
12/29/2010
Ha! I can't believe this lady has her own yelp page. I just only learned of her existence Monday night, and it was the same night she strolls into Hemlock with her ice chest on wheels. My friend let me have a bite and it was good but I didn't think it was worth $4. I'd rather much have a $3 bacon-wrapped hot dog at the stand outside of Bruno's (the larger one down the block when you turn right outside the club).
Her story is cool though. From what I hear, she started selling tamales to put her son through college. He graduated a long time ago, but she's still at it I guess because the money is good.
I don't have the heart to give her 3 stars though, which was what I wanted to at first. In the end she is a mama wheeling around an ice chest from bar-to-bar in SF, who made a name for herself. That's cool in my book. -
Review from Carrie M.
San Francisco, CA
9/27/2011
She's amazing...a San Francisco legend. She's saved my life numerous times post bar closing restaurant closing nights.
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Review from monica c.
1/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
$4.50 each is a small price to pay for delicious sustenance delivered straight to you when your drunk ass can't part with whatever you happen to be drinking at the moment.
Chicken is okay- you'll definitely find some bones in there though. The cheese is awesome. As long as you devour it while still nice and toasty, it's by far my fav choice. Yummy jalapeño goodness abounds in there as well. -
Review from Jessica t.
San Francisco, CA
4/14/2007 ROTD 12/13/2007
When I first moved to SF, I kept on hearing rumors about the Tamale Lady.
The magical woman who brings food to the drunk and hungry.
But I still didn't quite believe it.
Where was this Tamale Unicorn?
I'd never seen her.
Until one night I find myself at Zeigeist. Sitting on one of their wooden benches, I try to get comfortable, while at the same time, trying to quiet down my stomach.
I'm forced to feign interest in my friends' stories, since my mind is somewhere else. It's racing, trying to think of what restaurants are open late and what is the best way to convince my posse to make a 1:00 am food trek with me.
Suddenly out of nowhere, someone taps me on the shoulder.
I turn around slowly. And before the figure even speaks, I know.
Gulp.
It can't be her!?
So close.
And so real.
The Tamale Lady is staring right at me.
Her small frame is overshadowed by her cart.
I didn't want to speak at first, afraid that I would scare away the legend.
But I had to try what was in those tightly bound bundles.
I ordered a vegetarian tamale.
With no knife or fork, and just my fingers I ate the manna of the Tamale Lady.
Hot. Delicious. Perfect. Washed down with my beer. ...........
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.......
San Francisco is a deeply magical place...
(as I write this, a white four legged vision, with a prominent foot long horn, perched perfectly on its head, gallops across Golden Gate park) -
Review from jeremy p.
San Francisco, CA
4/24/2011
The Tamale Lady is magic. You're out somewhere, you're buzzed, you're having a good time, and then suddenly ... the drunken munchies hit you like a ton of bricks. You are HUNGRY. You need sustenance, NOW. Well, here comes the Tamale Lady to the rescue. The Tamale Lady has what you need : a cooler full of delicious, homemade tamales. Always delicious, always there when you need them. Also, The Tamale Lady herself is a really cool person -- she's been feeding the Mission and surrounding areas for nigh on 18 years, and believe me, she's see it ALL. There's actually a really great documentary about her called Our Lady of Tamale, and like 17 bands all wrote songs about her. Let me tell you, the Tamale Lady is loved, and with good reason. The Tamale Lady is the best!
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Review from EJ S.
San Francisco, CA
3/6/2010
So apparently my review was too "real" for some people, I guess hipsters don't like to hear that they've gassed up something that has been around in the Mission forever. The hot dog man? Yeah, him too--he's been around since before you hipsters got on the plane from Iowa. Here is my WATERED DOWN version of my original review of the overrated Tamale Lady:
First off, this [beezy] looks like a [6th street reject] who just happened to stumble upon these tamales. Second of all, they aren't that good. The masa is hella dry and there's just TOO MUCH MASA, i would've been better off eating the Tamale Lady sign at Zeitgeist. And she was a bitch to me! She sold her soul to the devil... having the audacity to charge a fellow brethren four dollars for a tasteless tamale! My dad used to buy nacatamales from a tamale FAMILY in the Mission and those were crackin, but not Virginia's. Four dollars? Pffff.... go to a Casa Lucas and get a better tamale from a tamale family. Fuckin hipsters gassed her up. -
Review from ruggy j.
1/14/2010
Hey, I'm all about supporting the locs here in SF, but the Tamale Lady is making it hard for me.
When I moved to they city earlier this year, one of the first things I wanted to try was a tamale from the fabled Tamale Lady. She's a legend around these parts, and I've heard absolutely nothing but great things about her and her homemade, maiz-wrapped snacks. Her appearances range from bars like Zeitgeist in the Mission, to Irish pubs like Mad Dog in the Fog on Haight. Sometimes you get lucky and see her multiple times a week, other times, you may not catch a glimpse of her for months on end.
Her tamales are really good and they usually do the trick when craving munchies after multiple pints of beer or rounds of shots... but $6 per tamale, slung out of a rolling heated cooler? Call me crazy, but that price tag seems a tad steep to me. I mean, they were $4 when I first tried them, and though I can't personally confirm myself, friends have stated that her tamales were being offered for $3 not too long ago.
I hate to sound like a dick I understand that times are tough and everyone is trying hard to stay afloat... but doesn't it kinda take away from the street food experience when you're essentially paying the same price you'd expect to find at a sit down restaurant? I dunno, I'm torn on this one, especially since I saw her at the post office last Friday, hopping into the driver's seat of a brand new Ford F-350 pick-up truck with chrome wheels and tinted windows. She must not be doing too bad right now....
I'll definitely continue to buy her stuff, but I surely hope that once this recession dwindles, she considers deflating her prices a bit.Listed in: Wacky in San Francisco, SF Mexican Food!, SF Food Carts
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Review from Michelle S.
Brookline, MA
9/7/2009
During an awkward first date at Zeitgeist, the night got a little less awkward with the appearance of a mythical creature who I had heard so much about. The famous tamale lady came into my life and nothing else mattered in the world except that a heavenly pocket of pork and corn from a garbage-bag lined cooler was about to be mine.
And mysterious date man almost declined.
"I'M PAYING FOR IT!" I drunkedly scream.
She is so worth tolerating the obnoxious hipsters (one of whom almost got a major Michelle S. throwdown for not having respect) at Zeitgeist.
When and if I ever get married, I am totally getting Tamale Lady to cater it. And my wedding will be so much better than whatever candy-ass storybook wedding you have. -
Review from Thomas B.
San Francisco, CA
2/18/2007
Holy Frijole Shiz-Nit Fer Mutha-Farking Nizzle Bizzle ...
I've lived here in the City for close to seven years -- I'd heard the stories, I've eavesdropped on whispers, I've been told the rumors, and I've read the reports that, apparently, in the Mission, there is a wonderful entity known as "The Tamale Lady." I've never come across her, and henceforth I sort of figured that she was some sort of urban legend. To Hell with all the stories, whispers, rumors and reports -- I was actually half-way convinced that she was a figment of some VERY sauced-up denizens.
Not so, thank GOODNESS. I was just at Zeitgeist with some friendly neighborhood Yelpers (whom I enjoyed meeting verily muchly), and I saw a man walk through the tables with a little roller cart with some bags and coolers on it. "Weird!" I thought. "Somebody brought their own little picnic ... I guess the hamburgers here aren't good enough for this fellow."
Then I saw the Lady Herself splitting those corn-husks open with plastic forks and handing them to hungry hungry peoples, and then it dawned on me -- HOLY SHIT! I'M HAVING A SAN FRANCISCO MOMENT!!! I divvied on up and got two of the best MOTHERFUCKING TAMALES I THINK I HAVE EVER EATEN. I sat my Bloody Mary on a table and set about hunkering down and shoveling that cheese and those green chiles and that mysterious spicy brown sauce into my mouth at an almost frightening rate of speed. I think a couple of people actually stared at me, but I didn't care.
Sasquatch. The Loch Ness Monster. Yeti (which, incidentally, is Tibetan for "That Thing Over There"). UFOs. Troglodytes. Dinosaurs still alive on vast, undiscovered lands. These are all theory, and I will keep an open mind until their existence is proven or I see the shit for myself.
But -- GODDAMN! -- there is a Tamale Lady, and I am a motherfucking believer. -
Review from Daniel A.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2011
If you are Mexican..... YOU WILL LOVE these tamales!!!!!! If you are NOT Mexican.... YOU WILL LOVE them too!
I had seen The Tamale Lady before and heard people talk about how great they tasted. I didn't believe them because I thought that very few could make a good tamale like my grandma and my tias. This lady proved me wrong.
I had one with chicken that cost $5, and it was well worth it. Like me, some people might be nervous buying food from a lady pulling a cooler, but seriously, you won't regret it.... well, unless you just don't like tamales. -
Review from Grace Y.
11/24/2008
Her tamales are okay. I always eat them with the hesitation that she might kill me with her tamales.
Sometimes I reject her, and she gets very mad. Also I get rather suspicious when I'm waved over to the backseat of a car and follow the pointing finger to a crock pot sitting in the back seat.
On occasion the tamales suck, and on occasion they are super freakin' awesome!
Now I want one :(Listed in: Why the hell is this even on…, Cheap eats
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Review from Dan B.
San Francisco, CA
9/5/2008
There is a goddess who walks the Mission and offers weary (by weary, I usually mean drunk) folks a magical food to revitalize their souls (by revitalize, I mean sober 'em up).
She isn't serving manna, but I can only assume that it would be pretty close.
My words cannot fully describe the essence of The Tamale Lady . . . so I've provided links to those who've come close:
http://www.yelp.com/us...
and
http://www.yelp.com/us...
Thanks Team Tuesdays -
Review from Tom R.
San Francisco, CA
7/9/2008
I quite honestly don't understand all the fuss over "the tamale lady". Has anyone ever been given the tamale they asked for from her? Her Tamale's are ok when you've been drinking and that's all. I dare anyone to eat one sober.
Two stars based on the quality of the tamales and her constantly giving you the wrong tamale and one extra star for bringing tamale's directly to you when you're drinking.Listed in: Tamales
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Review from steven c.
10/17/2005
Oh, tamale lady, how you've saved my sorry hide all those drunken nights. There's nothing better than having delicious tamales delivered to you at the bar.
There's a guy in El Paso, Texas named J.J., The Burrito King who delivers burritos to the drunken masses. I bet if J.J. and The Tamale Lady ever came across each other, they'd form one giant, delicious Voltron. umm, yeah. I wonder if all the cokeheads at the bars are hurting the Tamale Lady's business. -
Review from Evan L.
San Francisco, CA
4/14/2009
2 drinks in and the hunger pains had begun. From the crowd emerged a slight woman pulling two coolers. My eyes grew wide, drool began to slow fall from my lips.
The Tamale Lady had arrived and I wasn't even in the Mission! I ordered a pork tamale and got the hot sauce despite the fact that I'm 50/50 on hot sauce because I am a pussy.
It was delicious. It set the tone for an amazing night and I like to say aided in my lack of hangover the next morning.
Four stars because it was $4 and although a dollar doesn't mean a whole lot in San Francisco, I think it was probably only worth $3. -
Review from Rebecca H.
San Francisco, CA
8/27/2008
Once, a long time ago, I was crying at Zeitgeist after a particularly bad argument with my ex (yes, I know it's not cool to cry at a bar, but the fight really was bad and I was a little drunk). The Tamale Lady saw me crying and came up and gave me a free tamale saying "Tamales make you happy" (or something like that). You know what? Tamales DO make you happy, and I was able to stop crying and cheer up.
The Tamale Lady is as awesome her food, which coats my drunken tummy with deliciousness. I always perk up when I see her, even if I am in the worst mood imaginable. -
Review from Katherine N.
Santa Monica, CA
2/13/2008
San Francisco has The Famous Tamale Lady, and Chicago has The Famous Tamale Guy !They could make beautiful music together as well as great tamales.
He could come to San Francisco to court her and then they would fall in love and get married and they would become the Famous King and Queen of Tamales in San Francisco.
Then a few years later they would get divorced and she would get everything.
Community Property... She, 205 reviews, He 93 !
Personally, I think they should have a few shots of good tequilla and try to work it out . -
Review from jay h.
6/2/2009
After four years of eluding me I have FINALLY met the Tamale Lady!!!!
Last Saturday she suddenly appeared at Zeitgiest....I'd been there many, many times but never when the glorious tamales were being served. Honestly I was beginning to believe that she was a figment of drunk hipsters' imagination. Just a bunch of stoned boozers chasing the Tamale Lady Dragon.
I swear that woman is harder to find than a tall, hot, straight man with a pair of cajones bigger than my own. (Still looking actually...)
Anywho....her tamales fucking rock! Chicken, Cheese, Veggie and I think Bean....I totally forgot which one I inhaled but it was super sabroso!
FYI guys....it's the Tamale Lady's birthday on Monday, June 15!! Zietgiest is having a party for her.
http://blogs.myspace.c... -
Review from Christine L.
San Francisco, CA
5/20/2008 5 photos
Me: What does she have in the coolers?
Friend: Tamales.
Me: Tamales?
Friend: Tamales.
Me: OMG it's the tamale lady!
Friend: Yes, the delicious tamale lady.
Me: What kind of tamales?
Friend: I don't know.
Me thinking to self: *Hm, two coolers, she serves from both...one beef, one chicken maybe? Must be just two kinds.*
Me out loud: One of each please!
The Tamale Lady proceeds to grab one, stick a fork in it, opens it, splash it with some sauce. Grabs another one. Sticks a fork in it. Open. Splash. Grab. Fork. Open. Splash. Grab. Fork. Open. Splash. How many were there? I dunno, more than I expected. A chicken. A beef. (I guessed right!). A cheese/chile relleno. A veggie with corn, lima beans n such. A refried bean and cheese i think?
Not bad. The sauce wasn't hot. The chile relleno one was the best. $3.50 a pop is a bit expensive, but overall, we got our food before our friend who ordered his burger from Zeitgiest (the bar we were at) a half an hour before us. Can't complain.
P.S. Yelp, you disappoint me when there are 200+ reviews and hardly any pictures :P Now I have to upload my poorly focused pictures taken on my phone... -
Review from Pete J.
San Francisco, CA
7/27/2007
I'll spare you the aching love poems & cut right to the chase. I saw the Tamale Lady THREE TIMES last night.
ONCE at Zeitgeist when she rolled her cart in & served me up some heaven in a corn husk. TWICE when she came BACK to Zeitgeist after several hours cruising the Mission. THREE TIMES A LADY when she -- I Shit You Not -- crashed all up into my dreamscape serving up hot tamales.
I HAVE DREAMS ABOUT THIS WOMAN. She holds some mystical power that I cannot explain or possibly express in words. -
Review from Hector G.
5/13/2010
You know the lady is a rock star when she has her own Yelp page!
I'm gonna be totally honest here. Her tamales are pretty good. I mean don't get me wrong, when I used to drink all day long at Zeitgeist and the only meal of the day was a tamale from this lovely woman, it was a 5 star meal. But, I don't drink anymore and tried them on a sober brain and they were not all that. My Mom makes a better tamale, but I just can't get her to come out of retirement, walk the streets of SF at all hours of the morning, noon and night to hook you folks up!! But, I am working on it. -
Review from Kate K.
Chicago, IL
6/28/2009
What can one really say about Virginia (aka, the Tamale Lady) that hasn't already been said?
All I know is this: a trip to the Zeitgeist isn't complete unless you soak up some of the booze you're consuming with one of her homemade tamales. She is "street food" at its finest in San Francisco. She is a beloved San Francisco tradition.
If you have ever read anything by rock n' roll Chef Anthony Bourdain, you'll know that he is a huge advocate of "fast food" being non-corporate, homemade food you can find at a street vendor... his thought is that this is ALWAYS some of the best local, regional cooking you can find when you travel. I wholly agree.
The only rival to Tamale Lady is the difficult to find on a regular basis Bacon Dog... and, really, it's no comparison, they are so different - yet, the same in that they are wonderful little piece of the SF Mission that you have to be here to really understand.
Viva La Tamale Lady!!!Listed in: Katiekins Recommends in San…
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Review from Sam T.
7/11/2008
Saw the Tamale Lady at Dolores Park for movie night.
We got a pair of steaming hot chicken and cheese tamales for $7. Although the chicken was just ok, the cheese was awesome because of the jalapenos. It really had a nice kick to it.
I wouldn't go out of my way to hunt down the Tamale Lady. But if I see her around, I'd shove over a kid as I run to grab a cheese tamale. -
Review from Theron L.
San Francisco, CA
2/19/2008
I am always happy to see the Tamale lady!!!
Tamale lady, I love you!!!!
Her cheese and green chili ones are amazing, especially after a pitcher of Stella.Listed in: These are a few of my favorite…
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Review from Jill D.
9/26/2007
The Tamale Lady narrowly saved my seriously fucked up self when, as the last relay in the Drug Olympics, I decided to roll into Zeitgeist after a two night bender. I hadn't eaten in about 36 hours so that tamale was SOLID!
Plus who can't love this earnest little lady purveying some cornmeal masa heaven in a sea of burgers?! I think there should be a Saint Tamale Lady shrine at Mission Dolores Church! Hell, she saved my life and, given how bad off I was, that definitely makes at least one miracle she's performed.
I'm making up my own religion and I'm going to pray to The Tamale Lady and The Bacon Dog Cart. Mass will be observed at numerous bars and clubs throughout the city and attendees must be inebriated. Who's with me?! -
Review from Dizzy L.
7/22/2009
Saviour!
She even has vegan tamales!
What a woman -
Review from Vincent K.
San Francisco, CA
11/28/2009
Dear Ms. Tamale Lady,
It's me, Vincent. I know this may come as a shock, but I've heard so much about you. For the longest time I've tried to find those delicious tamale which people have been talking about. People have said to find you at Zeitgeist, at Mission and 20th, Valencia and 17th, etc.
Last night, my dream came true. As I stepped out of the Elbo Room, I was immediately caught off by a stranger walking by with a tamale wrapped in the white paper towel. Immediately, I couldn't help but make my way to your cart standing a few feet away. My friends thought I was crazy and didn't know where I was going. But believe me I knew. My nose, my eyes, my mouth and its salivation was on the determined mission. I may have ordered with a hesitation or act of disbelief, simply because I wasn't sure if it was really you. After tasting the cheese tamale for the very first time with the perfect amount of melted cheese, I knew. I knew it was you and my hopes have come true. Thank you Tamale Lady. Thank you so much.
