Kirk and Cathy will be back posting soon. But today, as promised, ed (from Yuma) is finishing up his report on the Somerton Tamale Festival. It will begin with the following line:
I mentioned in the first part of this post that well over 5000 people must have attended this year's event. And it seemed like all of them were standing in one line — the line leading to last year's favorite meat tamale:
The line went straight forward and then turned right toward the vendor. Yes, the guy in the red cap with his daughter, the young lady scratching the back of her pink sweater, the follicly challenged gentleman in brown, and everyone in front of him were all part of the line. And this picture doesn't show the very front of the line or those poor souls standing behind Tina and I. Notice also that the line is two and three people wide for its entire length.
One of the many great things about attending an event like this with a friend is that standing in line (even for over an hour) did not mean that we were required to go hungry.
I soon showed up with a tamale de pollo:
While not as rich and good as the chicken tamale at Pupuseria Cabanas (yeh I'm plugging my favorite Yuma restaurant – again), it did have a nice chicken flavor and good green chili spice. It also kept us from focusing on the very slow-moving line.
So a few minutes later, I was back with another beef tamale, from a vendor recommended by a friend:
It was typically rich and beefy (there should have been a table with a cardiologist at this festival). Since I had spooned some tangy salsa from the same vendor beside the tamale, it added a slight sour note that contrast with the overall flavor:
Luckily our long wait in line was not in vain (and yes, we did have visions of them running out just as we got to the head of the line). When we got back to the table and opened up the tamale, this is what greeted our eyes:
Okay, we learned quickly that it didn't win last year's award because of its looks. The darn thing was more ugly and lumpy than I am. When we opened it up, we began to realize that it truly was a winner:
In addition to all that rich flavorful beef, there was abundant green chili and the obligatory olive as well:
And surprise, pickled carrot slices:
Yeah, that's a good tamale.
We saved for last the tamale of the wonderful woman whose picture at last year's festival has become a key part of the festival's website. Just as I remembered it was good and beefy:
What else can I say? The tamales were $1.50 apiece. Plates with beans and salad were also available. It may look like we tried them all, but we didn't even make it to a third of the vendors – and many vendors had more than one tamale choice. We were also too full to finish with a desert tamal – such as pineapple or chocolate.
The Somerton Tamale Festival is truly festive. And flavorful. And muy rico. Next year, you be there too!