Track that Truck! Tamalli Space Charros
By Minna A in Food on May 6, 2011 7:00PM
Only in Chicago can you chase down a truck to have tamales served by brawny luchadores. Sending cryptic messages from the tamalespaceship, Tamalli Space Charros is the only stridendist mobile tamaleria, focusing the entire menu around only tamales, with a theme encompassing both Mexican wrestling and sci-fi films.
Tamales are the quintessential street food, designed for on-the-go dining for armies, hunters and travelers since as far back as 8000 BCE. Tamales are wrapped in masa, healthy cornmeal dough, and steamed in plantain leaves or corn husks, ideal for keeping them warmer longer.
Tamalli Space Charros offers their tamales with pairings specific to each. A portion of the gluten-free tamales includes two large tamales filled with a choice of meat or vegetables with a sauce on the side for just $7. Tamallie Space Charros boasts of their “Complicated Tamalli de Carne,” a steak tamale with a mole made of nearly 27 ingredients, but better still is their “No One’s Tamalli” with braised chicken in the middle and a green mole pairing with just enough saltiness to make the tamale more flavorful.
The “Picturesque Tamalli” is made of pork, but the star of this pairing is the tomato habanero sauce; although absent of habanero fire, it is a uniquely sweet, rich with roasted tomatoes and mixed with complicated spices. Vegetarians have their options too, a roasted beet and goat cheese “Dyanamic Tamalli” topped with garlic sauce, and a “Simple Rajas con Queso” tamale stuffed with poblano peppers and panela cheese with a roasted tomato sauce to top.
Track down Tamalli Space Charros on @tamalespaceship.
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