[vetvetdoug]

Corinth, Mississippi, has a lineage of tamale makers dating back to WWI. The railroads passed through this town and the black tamale makers would sell them to the soldiers passing through. Several tamale makers had a small wagon where they made them and kept them hot to sell. Twenty years ago there were still four tamale stands in the town that were owned by the same families that made them in the 1900’s, now there is only one left. Twenty years ago tamales were peddled from a box mounted on the back of a bicycle by the makers and they'd sell them all over town.

[wizkid]

My guess is the tradition started with Cuban (maybe slaves) in the South.

Tamales does seem to be a family type business and it comes with all the usual family business type problems.

For example, there is, apparently, a feud going on in Vicksburg between Solli's and the Tamale Place (In fact, one of those little signs in the "hole on the wall" picture that I posted states that Solly's is the place blessed by Solly although I do not take sides):

Adventure Rider - Ride to Eat Tamales Tour (RTETT)

In Vicksburg we have The Tamale Place and Solly's. Both started from a one man operation. A native of Cuba, Henry Solly, moved to Vicksburg and started selling tamales from a cart. He later opened up a small cafe to house his business. After his death there was some family fight that resulted in the two current tamale places in town, The Tamale Place and Solly's. They both use Solly's recipe and are quite good.

It is crazy how close they are to each other:

Directions from Solly's to the Tamale Place

Heck, it would not be the South without a little bit of feudin. It probably makes them both up their games just like all those whiskey distillers.

I must confess that the Tamale Place does have a bit more ambiance than Solly's:



It is also home to the infamous Tamale Supreme:



I borrowed the pics from Yelp because I misplaced mine. Here is a pic of their menu (May I suggest the saltine crackers as a side):

Yelp - Tamale Place Menu

Here is a great review of the Tamale Supreme (good pics too at the link):

The Cynical Cook: The Tamale Place - Vicksburg

If you thought the Frito Pie looked like a heart stopper, you’ll be floored when you see the Tamale Supreme. Filling a whole quart container, there’s a sense of foreboding just looking through the lid. Floating on that ocean of nacho cheese is a few jalapeno boats and a oil slick. With a little digging, I found there were actually tamales in this Tamale Supreme.

The reviewer does fail to mention the beans at the bottom but there are some frijoles in there too (for a complete meal).

The reviewer does mention that they also sell Boudin (Boo Dan) sausage there too, which I somehow missed on my trip there.