What if I told you that the best tamale I had all year didn’t come from a restaurant? What if I told you it didn’t come from a store? What if I told you it came from a large silver pot in the trunk of a sedan and you can get pork or chicken verde tamales that aren’t soggy and are steamed so perfectly they taste like they were cooked sous-vide?
Go to the Mexican bakery La Espiga De Oro on the corner of 19th and Placentia early on a weekend morning. Look for a line or a guy just chillin by his car. Ask for the tamales. He also has hot chocolate (possibly Champurrado) and that warm corn milk (Atole). Every once in a while he’s not there. Console yourself by going in the bakery. Feel better? Maybe next time.
It’s worth trying again.
Here’s the chicken version:
Food Finds 
I believe it! When we lived in southern CA there was a man who would sell out of one of those big steamers— he pushed it around in a shopping cart. True story and they were the best tamales ever!!! I know— risky but I loved them. I just found your blog today and really enjoyed it!
Estela
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