I Heart Tamales

In January, the B’ham News had a 4-star review of D’s Tamales in Hueytown. It’s in the building where my favorite, best-ever name of a barbecue restaurant was.

“Let’s Eat Smoked Meat”.
Yes. Ah.
So! We went to D’s and they were pretty good:
D's Tamales, Hueytown Alabama
D's Tamales, Hueytown Alabama
– not my favorite, and not particularly photogenic, but my favorites are at Hick’s in Clarksdale MS. That’s a bit of a drive.
Oh, I have to show Hick’s now:
Hick's World Famous Hot Tamales, Clarksdale MS
Hick's World Famous Hot Tamales, Clarksdale MS
Hick's World Famous Hot Tamales, Clarksdale MS
*That* is a tamale.
If you’re “into” tamales too, take a look at the SFA’s Tamale Trail:
The furthest east the Tamale Trail goes is to Corinth MS. The last time we were there, we tried Dilworth’s, which is a drive-thru place:
Dilworth's Tamales, Corinth MS
Dilworth's Tamales, Corinth MS

(above:) “Want mild? Say *mild* *when* *ordering*.”

Dilworth's Tamales, Corinth MS

These Corinth tamales are different – long and skinny. They were okay, but they didn’t have much meat in the middle. Still missing Hick’s.

Okay, while we’re having a tamale-fest, I have to show this pic too. It’s the pic I took of tamales at Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville, and this is the one that Gourmet paid me to use.
Hot Tamales at Doe's Eat Place, Greenville MS

Nice. Oh, Doe’s, I heart you too.

If you got the latest issue of Oxford American, there’s an article about Yancey’s Red Hots (tamales in Shelby, MS) and illustrating the piece is artwork by my friend Amy Evans.
Other things to love in the OA: the article about Peter Chang, geophagy, Nashville chocolate, and chicken-on-a-stick. More about all of that soon.
Oh one more thing! Another of our tamale places, Solly’s in Vicksburg, was written about last month at Slashfood.
Solly's Hot Tamales, Vicksburg MS

in part:

More than five dozen Mississippi hot tamales have been secreted away in the snows of northwest Alaska.

The tamales from Solly’s, a Vicksburg institution, were recently shipped to musher Mike Suprenant, who plans to participate in next week’s 1,150-mile Iditarod race. Since it’s impossible for a team of 16 huskies to efficiently drag the 2,000 pounds of food needed to keep them and their driver fed, organizers require racers to stow their supplies at food drops, reachable only by helicopters and sleds.


McCain isn’t sure how Suprenant acquired his taste for Solly’s tamales, although she concedes, “We have people from practically all over the world.” His order was conveyed by a Vicksburg resident and longtime Iditarod volunteer.

“I took care of it, and I actually added a few,” McCain says.

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