I wish I could have titled this Hot Tamales, but I see no evidence that tamales are hot right now on American menus. But strangely, they are hot here on the island of Kauai—not in restaurants, but along the road from food trucks, roadside stands and from front yards next to busy roads. And these aren’t microwaved Costco frozen tamales.
As near as I can tell, tamales on mainland American menus is only a “thing” around Christmas as traditional Hispanic holiday fare. But that doesn’t account for the year-round abundance of tamales along the road in Kauai—especially considering the Hispanic population here is miniscule.
The population on Kauai runs about 72,000, not counting tourists, of which there are more than 100,000 in any given month. Therein may be the key. Tourists spend their hard-earned nickels and dimes on expensive vacation necessities like airfare, car rental and lodging, which leaves them to their ingenuity to forage for economical meals between excursions. In that case, all these roadside tamale stands make a lot of convenient, cheap, portable sense. (There are far more tamale stands than McDonalds here.)
But back to the mainland and the potential for tamales outside of the holidays. Tamales simply fly under the radar. Maybe they do best at such convenience locales as ball parks and fairs and festivals—lumped in with funnel cakes and corn dogs—which are one-off purchases.
For restaurants, of course tamales make the most sense among those that specialize in Mexican/Southwest cuisine. Here are some versions I’ve seen on menus for a little inspiration:
- Chili Cheese Tamales: Tamales topped with chili, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and cilantro (Del Taco)
- Spicy Chicken Tamale: Comes with Guajillo sauce, avocado balm and salsa fresca (Border Grill)
- Vegetarian Tamale: Calabacitas, queso de Oaxaca, mole Amarillo (The Coyote Café)
- Short Rib Tamale: Comes with black bean salsa, ancho chili sauce and crème fraiche (Hot and Hot Fish Club)
- Hola Hemp Tamales: Plant-based hemp seed, flax, nopales and quinoa tamales served with vegan arroz blanco, tomatillo sauce and frijoles charros (El Charro Café)
- Tamale Boat: Tamales smothered in chili and topped with sharp cheddar cheese and onion (Al’s Beef)
On Kauai, I’d call tamales “familiar comfort” for the tourists. You don’t see roadside stands selling traditional Hawaiian fare. Tourists wouldn’t likely stop for poke, musubi or lau lau, for example. “Eat local” is kind of out the window when you’re on vacation between waterfalls, hikes, sunset photo ops and monk seal sitings!
Jody
