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Dogsbottombottom t1_iyb0qzk wrote

Reply to comment by iamanitwit in Tis the season 😃 by J_arvid

It's a tamale. Masa steamed in a corn husk. Usually has cheese or meat inside the masa. You unwrap to eat it. Here in LA (Los Angeles, not Lewiston Auburn - I grew up in Maine, it's not weird that I lurk this sub I swear) you can find the best ones being sold from the trunk of an old ladies car in a parking lot.

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annabelm t1_iyb8h48 wrote

From TX, can confirm good tamales can be bought from old ladies in parking lots. My hookup was usually the grandmother of a lady at my dad’s office. It feels like a drug deal; you have to know someone who knows someone because the ones at the grocery store are trash.

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EarthDust00 t1_iyb1y7c wrote

What parking lot?

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Dogsbottombottom t1_iyb6o1k wrote

I've heard there's a lady who sets up in the Harbor Hospital parking lot in Torrance. There's also a guy who sells from various spots in Highland Park on the weekends. There's also apparently a woman who sells them outside the petco in van nuys that's been doing it forever, not sure if she's still there though.

Edit: these are only the ones I know about, there's probably way way more, not to mention any mexican restaurant in southern california.

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iamanitwit t1_iybinft wrote

So, you unroll it and eat it with a fork?

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Dogsbottombottom t1_iybnsyl wrote

That's how I do it, but I'm just a white guy from Maine, so I'm not exactly a source of authenticity on this topic.

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nmar5 t1_iycjj8q wrote

Can confirm even in Oregon. When I lived out there for school there was an old lady and old man that would walk through my neighborhood every Sunday with their dog, yelling, “Hot Tamales!”

When their wagon cooler was empty, they’d go refill out of their car. But damn were those the best tamales. I genuinely miss tamales sometimes.

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