It ’s 3 am at your neighbourhood dive . You ’re succeed at darts , the bartender just pass on you a destitute shot , and by some miracle your group of friends has control of the nickelodeon . It ’s dive bar heaven , save for one problem : You ’re starving . You see to the popcorn machine as a last resort , but tonight it sit in lone disrepair . Do you desert your darts ? blue jet from the jukebox ? Your tummy roars . You have no alternative but to cease the night ahead of time and get down the search for former - nighttime grub .
Wait ! all of a sudden the door bursts open up , a pool of unaccented floods the hazy bar , and in walk your economize grace . It ’s Chicago ’s Tamale Man . Rejoice ! Delight ! The night is saved !
Most of what the cyberspace nurse about Chicago ’s tamale men are urban legends or conspiracy theory . Some take that Claudio is the only veritable Tamale Man because he ’s been in the game the longest . Dig a little mystifying though and you ’ll read paper of anoriginaloriginal Tamale Man , who sparred with Claudio in tamale sod wars before stalk away from the fit everlastingly . Most people do n’t know the tamale men by name , but by colored ice chest . Claudio is said to only ever huckster his ware from a crimson ice chest , which fix him apart from Julio , who uses blueness . Then again , there are a handful of scandalous reports of each man with the other color cooler , too . Gasp ! mass say Claudio ’s wife bring in his tamales . Others claim it ’s his sister . Julio ’s fussy . Julio ’s friendly . The path to true tamale knowledge is labyrinthine indeed .
Jason Hoffman/Thrillist
Many reporters have attempt to adopt the edible corn stubble to the informant , but most call it a day after finding out one or two pocket-sized detail or nothing at all . I was compulsive to buck the trend , to find out out all I could about the earthly concern of late - dark Tamale and the men who sell them . Specifically , I was interested in the human beings , the myth , the tamale legend : Claudio .
The search for Claudio
A month of evenings surveilling the Map Room , Flat Iron , Old Town Ale House , Weeds Tavern , Slippery Slope , and Cork Lounge all proved Claudio - less . I had pick my stakeout spots free-base on the trends I mention onTamale Tracker . Heard of it ? It ’s the ingenious Twitter account someone after my own centre made up so that if you see a tamale man out , you could alert the city to his whereabouts and they can come running . All of these bars had number up on the site with good geometrical regularity , so I go a - looking for . But nothing .
“ What makes him go to some barroom and not others ? ” I wonder . Was it drink specials , beer gardens , proximity to pothouse trans ? I could n’t figure it out .
On the windy last night of September , I stride into Logan Square ’s Green Eye Lounge . Having learned not to waste my sentence elsewhere , I went directly to the barkeeper and postulate for a atomic number 82 on the tamale gentleman . “ You just missed them , ” he told me , gesturing at the tables behind me . Them ? ! There had been more than one ? ! Sure enough , the tables were littered with cornhusks . “ Claudio was in here five minutes ago . ”
Jason Hoffman/Thrillist
“ No ! ” I exclaimed , slumping down in my barstool . So near and yet so far ! He gave me a curious look and I explained the saga . “ Oh , well I can just text him if ya desire . ” TEXT HIM ? ! Claudio , our renegade nosedive saloon delivery human race , is on the grid ? ! “ Uh yes . Yes , please . ” “ He ’s responding right now . 20 minute . He ’ll be back . ” Could it be that it was just that easy ?
wait for Claudio ’s hypothetical return , I set out intimate on my bar stool and chatted with my epic bartender . Who was this guy and how did he arrive to have Claudio ’s direct line ?
His supporter call him Turbo ( no relation to the American Gladiator ) . He has the behaviour of your kind , chill uncle and the flavour of a longtime rock ' n ' roll - er . Turbo has worked at the Green Eye for all 13 age of its existence , but has known Claudio for closer to 20 . They met when Turbo was working his former fizgig at Lemming ’s , and he ’s heard bits and pieces of Claudio ’s story ever since . According to Turbo , “ [ Claudio ] used to work at a tamale factory making two buck an hour . And they decide their family recipe was unspoilt and they could do it themselves . He is always save up to go to Cancun , buy a resort . He say me I ’m gon na be his bartender or beverage managing director . One sidereal day we ’ll get that dream go . Right now he ’s the top guy cable . ”
Jason Hoffman/Thrillist
Everyone I talked to at Green Eye is just like Turbo : faithful to Claudio through and through . “ Everyone else ’s I ’ve tried . I always just hold back for Claudio … he ’s stupefy the goodness , ” says Sean Boban , the doorman . “ The proof is in the gustation , ” Turbo enunciate . “ [ Claudio ] constitute everything fresh . There are people who derive in here and … I ’m sure there ’s a caboodle of old product being reheat . What Claudio does , he gives it off if he does n’t sell it , ” he says .
Claudio ’s salsa verde is another cistron that keeps Boban and Turbo come back to Claudio . “ His hot sauce is so prized , ” says Boban . Turbo ’s got the real hookup : From prison term to clock time , Claudio will bring him a quart of the precious green philosopher’s stone .
Tamale turf wars
But things are n’t always so friendly in Tamale Land . For one , the metropolis is n’t always so hot on the whole idea . Boban explains that once or twice the news has done a account because “ hoi polloi who are walking around like that , they are not pay taxes for what they ’re deal . There ’s no regulation for their food . ” A trivial detrition , indisputable . But that has n’t discontinue the tamale military personnel from doing their affair .
In fact , it ’s not just tamale man who betray taproom to prevention . Sean reports having a torta man coming by in the past , selling his Mexican sandwiches around last call . And Ted Gerstle , a Bucktown resident , recalls a pizza pie cat who would amount to bars and need , “ Who prescribe the pizza ? " " No one would pick it up , and he ’d say , ' Well , I have this pizza pie here if anyone want it … I guess I ’ll betray it . ’ ” Sure enough , mass would purchase . Sean nod . He knows him . “ The guy works at Papa Romeo ’s . ”
According to Boban , although uncommon , turf wars are also real for the tamale men . “ [ A ] threshold cat that I was talking to articulate that Claudio and another [ tamale man ] ran into each other at the same topographic point , ” he recalls . “ I do n’t know if it was something to do with the Tamale or something else , but apparently they got into a fight . Like a fistfight . ” They both still total through the Green Eye . fortunately though , they rarely , if ever , overlap .
Far more common than these tale of territorial scrums are taradiddle of Claudio saving the day . The tale kick the bucket that one Nox a couple old age back , Turbo was puzzle out at Lemmings Bar on a Friday night . His friend ( the groom ) and his groomsman had terminate by to get a drinking before heading to the ceremony . “ Everyone came in to meet in a central locating and were gon na catch a cab there , it ’s five minutes forth , ” says Turbo . But to their alarm “ cabs were an minute and a half wait . Then , Claudio shows up … he ’s like ‘ Yeah yeah ! I ’ll take them . ’ So he direct [ them ] to the historical society for the wedding . He ’s like , ‘ No problem ! ’ ” Turbo chuckle . “ He ’s a square dude . ”
So if Claudio ’s THE Tamale Man , who are the other tamale men ? Boban lay it out for me : “ There ’s five now . Claudio hail by once . Two make out by at least two or three times a night if it ’s obtuse . Another guy , I only see him on rare occasions . He ’s a crowing guy … then there’sthisguy , ” he says , referring to the inhuman bag of Tamale sit on the bar from in the first place in the night . “ He ’s the fresh guy . ”
The humanity have different styles of appealing to customers . While Claudio ’s approach is personal , call “ Tamales ! ” as he stride table to table , other vendors are more aggressive . The aforementioned rare - occasions bozo , concord to Boban , “ kinda forces himself upon people , like ‘ get along on ! You know you need some tamales . ’ ” Others are more aloof , yelling “ tamales , tamale ” just above the ruction of the crew to no one in picky .
Their style of tamale making are also unlike , especially the new hombre ’s . Boban explain the difference saying , “ Those one ’s are n’t really oily at all . The cornmeal is a different grain . And then his too , he sells three or four of them , but they ’re likethisbig . ” He connects his index finger fingers and thumbs to form a rectangle . “ Those are the only 1 around here that are really big . ”
All of the tamales , from what I can glean , are made the traditional Mexican way : merge the masa , make the filling , steam the cornhusk . Then spread the masa , fill , fold , and steam for an time of day - ish . The grain depends on how much lard is in the dough , grease level on the filling , and size of it on your discretion . In Mexico , tamale can be eat for breakfast or dinner , sold on the street or in a restaurant . They can also be savory or sweet .
I have n’t take on the sweet ones , but our Bucktown cat Ted has . “ One time outside of the food market in Logan Square I bought an entire [ car ] trunk of tamale , ” he tell . “ A lot of them were strawberry tamales and let me tell you those were delicious . ” Through more detecting I ’ve specify that these tamales came from Alberto , who I receive on the long road to Claudio , and who comes by the Green Eye a couple times a night .
Like Claudio ’s , Alberto ’s business is a family affair . It all starts in the kitchen with his female parent , whose pork tamale are no joke . They are make for - your - Tums spicy and that ’s without the salsa . The masa is a little drier than some ( less lard , probably ) and is fold to form a cigar - sized cylindric tamale .
Alberto loves croak on praise to his female parent and adorably sound out that his favored thing about selling tamales is introducing the public to his mummy ’s cooking . Although I would have put money on his least - favorite part being the drinkers that must accost him nightly , he allege the low point of the problem is unsubdivided : when he does n’t sell as many tamales as he wants . variance is part of the gig ; on some nights he ’ll do several electric circuit and still descend home with a full cooler . On others , he can deal an full trunkful .
The long-awaited meeting
At first , Claudio was dubious about shoot the breeze with a reporter . He said he ’s working , mayhap later , that he ’ll give me his figure . But I had come too far to not get the interview , and after a slight blarney he finally sit down and yield me the quick lowdown .
“ I ’ve got a company , ‘ Tamale Guy Chicago , ’ it ’s my business now . It ’s me and my married woman . [ We use ] my kinsfolk ’s formula , my grandma ’s , ” he allege . Of naturally , the formula is a closely guarded closed book . Intrigued by the turf war Boban had mentioned , I ask Claudio ( full name : Claudio Velez ) about his relationship with the other tamale men . He says he does n’t normally see anyone on the road . “ Do you feel free-enterprise with the other guys ? ” He shake his promontory and scowls , “ No , no . ” Hmm , really ? “ They ’re dissimilar tamale . Different everything . Every mean solar day I make these tamales . Not the other day . Only fresh tamales , they ’re the good Tamale , ” he contribute in a manner that ’s not braggart but matter - of - fact .
Claudio starts to come together his ice chest . Enough of this break , it ’s fourth dimension to run into the route again . As you could imagine , Friday is a meddlesome night . “ I got ta go for perchance three 60 minutes … [ I exploit ] four days a week , ” he says . I ask how he will settle which bar to go to next . “ I have a route … I embark on at Damen , south . ”
Claudio says he does n’t have a penchant for specific bar , but it ’s punishing for me to trust that ’s lawful , because as he gets from his barstool with a “ Have a good dark , ” Turbo comes over . “ I came back to get some chicken 1 , ” he explains . Claudio give Turbo a solid handshake and opens up his ice chest . “ This guy wire , ” Claudio say , “ This guy wire is my buddy . 20 years . ” “ 20 days man , ” Turbo nods .
As Claudio searches for chicken , Turbo shares his favorite purpose for the tamales : “ For breakfast , take the cheese ones , chop up them up in a pan with some butter , put an ballock , salsa , beans if you ’ve got ‘em , makes a great hasheesh for the next day . ” Is this an approved use ? “ Oh yeah , ” express mirth Claudio and walks back through the bar into the florescent - lit din of the night : “ Tamales ! Tamales ! ”
Turbo smile after him . “ He ’s Chicago , mankind , through and through . ”
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