You Don't Have To Wait For Christmas To Unwrap One Of These

I first heard about The Tamale Place on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I love tamales and really liked their story, so I put this place in my phone contact list hoping to one day drive through and check them out.  This past weekend I had the chance. Twice.

We went to their Greenwood location first because it was closer to where we were that day, and I liked it.  It was big, and open, and very clean. And the website isn't kidding when they say that they can't guarantee the availability of all tamales, every day. 

They make them at least twice a day, morning and afternoon, and when they run out, they run out. You have to choose from what's left on the board. Honestly, I'm thinking you can't go wrong with any of them.  There's not a bad choice.

Yesterday we went to the main location where they filmed the DDD show. This restaurant was smaller inside than the Greenwood one, and it was a little busier. We would have gone back to the other one but I wanted to see the place that made them famous, and it was closer to our sightseeing location for the day.

Also - and this is important for truck drivers - the Rockville Road location is less than a mile off of the I-465 loop on the west side of Indianapolis, and the plaza at this location has truck parking! We were in a rental car, but now that I know where it is, I'd feel very comfortable coming back in the truck.

We tried the Mild Beef in Red Sauce, the Mild Pork in Green Sauce, the Spicy Pork in Green Sauce, and the Spicy Chipotle Beef tamales.  This is the Spicy Pork in Green Sauce Tamale that Ed ordered yesterday:

Below is the Spicy Chipotle Beef tamale that I ordered yesterday.  The first day we went I had the Mild Beef in Red Sauce and although both were good, I liked the mild one better. The spicy one was just a smidge too hot for me.  We both ordered the combo which comes with either rice or beans, but we each got one side and shared.

These people really know how to make tamales. The corn for the masa is freshly ground every day, and they must make a lot of it because they crank out over 150,000 tamales a year, all handmade and hand-tied. 

But the real surprise, and the stand out for me, a die-hard tamale lover, were the tacos.

We tried the steak and the pork taco.  They're both made with a fresh house-made corn tortilla (which delivers BIG corn flavor), melted cheese, fresh cilantro, diced onion, and on the side, a small container of fresh salsa and a wedge of lime. The steak is diced and the pork is pulled.

The steak was okay, but the pork?  Oh. My. GOD. It was so incredibly juicy and flavorful, I was out of my mind. I think it was the best taco I've ever had.  Of course, when someone says that, they mysteriously forget the last best whatever-it-is they had.  But seriously, I think it was the best taco I've ever eaten in my life.

I will definitely be going back to this place, but to tide me over, I bought a dozen fresh tamales for the road.  I'm going to eat one for lunch tomorrow - one is really enough, they're a 1/2 pound each - and stash some in the freezer. I think it might just be the best $40 I've spent this week.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2014: Where The Rivers Meet
2013: Into The Pacific Northwest
2012: Après-ski Is The Place For Me
2011: Rain Or Shine
2010: In My Dictionary, Team Is Always Spelled Without An I
2009: The Italian Energy Drink*
2008: Shroom
2007: Looks Fairly Serene To Me
2006: Taste, Smell, And Hear The Memories
2005: Eddie’s New Ride