When it comes to tamales, the lowly and simple elote variety never seem to get the respect they deserve. You’d be hard pressed to find them at the usual locations where you get the big boys of the tamal scene; the puercos, polllos, and queso filled maiz tubes rule the roost. So when I saw this sign for just tamales de elote at the Raspados Nayarit I had to give them a try. Let’s take a closer look…
..at a hot tamal de elote. Right away you can tell these are different as they have that wonderful earthy aroma of fresh cooked sweet corn. Unlike most tamales that are made from the dried, soaked, and milled maiz that is the staple of most mexican cooking, the tamal de elote is basically made by steaming fresh sweet corn and contains no filling. Some people think of these as dessert tamales but they’re not, they’re just different. There used to be a man at El Mercadito that used to sell some from a push cart by the front entrance (many years ago) and these reminded me of those delicious treats. At only $1.25 each I had one on the spot and took a few to go.
If you take a seat at the one table you can enjoy the varios dichos and the usual bunch of ways to tell you to pay up; “No Credit except on February 30th”, “Man cannot live on bread alone.” Tamales though, that may be another story. 😉
PS. They only have the tamal de elote available on weekends.
Raspados Nayarit
3426 N. Broadway Lincoln Heights, 90031
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Live on tamales alone? Heck yea! I was already counting down the minutes until lunch. Now I’m really hungry!
I have never had one but would love to track one down. I’ve adopted tamales and it is now on the family crest.
Love the spam protection word for me today, rucas
ha ha!
do the tamales contain manteca?
I didn’t ask but I don’t think they have lard. That would really suck if they did.
but what percentage of Tamal? The sign just leaves you hanging!
lol ahahhaha I was gonna say that too whats the deal with the percent sign lol
i have been wanting to eat tamales for a while. there’s a really good place closed by where i live, but i usually don’t buy them cuz they do use lard.
I wasn’t sure about that drawing but I decided it was a visual representation of corn. When you think about it, it kinda makes sense.
Mental note: don’t visit El Chavo’s blog when you’re hungry or haven’t had a tamal in way too long.
Cindy,
you’re preaching to the choir.
Good grief! I wouldn’t eat a tamale that didn’t have lard. That is what makes them so good.
Adding more fat to the tamala. Its a heart attach waiting to happen.
I agree lard is not good for the human body but ever so often it is worth it.
Corn Masa with more Corn Masa – yuck !!!
I like the tamales from Honduras, they put chicken, rice, and vegtebales in thier tamales. When I was poor kid we had bologna sanwiches, when the familly was really broke we had meatless sanwiches.
eat the tamales and lighten up mad mexican then your hemoroids will dissapear and you won’t have to tell us poor Mexicans how poor you were.
Sweet corn tamales are the best. Put mexican crema (sour cream) on top and they are to die for!
My grandma made them with a pinch of salt and would serve them with butter, fresh cheese (panela), salsa and a glass of cold milk. If there were any left over, the next day she would fry them in butter and serve again with cheese and salsa…mmmhhh I MISS MY GRANDMA!!!
tamales de elote are made with fresh corn and butter or margarine not lard(manteca), they are a little bit sweet and are served with fresh cream on top .
Honduras tamales (nacatamales) are made with dry corn, and the dough is stuffed with rice, potatoes, meat, capers, olives, mmmmmm very good. the ones I make are spectacular.
Tamales dulces most of the time have margarine or butter. The savory ones, meat, chicken, and so on always contain lard. But what is a tamal without any of these? I’ve been wanting to make some tamales de Elote myself but we’ll see, maybe one of these days. Enjoy your tamales people!
It would help to share where this restaurant is located or a recipe.
I ate this growing up in the Central Americas but could not find any after our family moved to the US. I asked every Hispanic I knew about this but they always told me they have no idea what I was talking about. xD
It’s good to know someone out there found and enjoyed some of these.