Tamale Lady at Berkeley Bowl Parking Lot

I love the tamale lady. She’s always outside Berkeley Bowl, ready to feed the hungry & lazy masses who’ve just purchased fresh foods, yet are too tired to cook any of it. I ordered a chicken tamale from her, yet when I bit into it, I was surprised to find that there was absolutely no chicken in the tamale. I bit further. None. It was a rectangle of masa, stuffed with a tiny bit of cheese. I’m not sure if this was her idea of a joke, but I thought it was pretty funny, and because the masa was so tasty, I didn’t mind. $ 1 for a veggie tamale… yummy.

This lady sells teeny tamales for $ 1 each or 12 for $ 10 from the trunk of her white SUV. When I went, she had pork with red sauce, chicken with green, or cheese. I got the chicken one. The tamale was quite small and barely had any chicken in it. The flavors were fine, nothing special. I guess it’s good for a quick cheap snack, but definitely not a meal.

The tamale lady goes to both Monterey Market and Berkley Bowl. It’s a good strategy. I know I’m always hungry after i shop, but too tired to make any kind of meal with the things I’ve recently purchased. That is where the tamale lady fits in.. . it’s Saturday or Sunday and I know I have one beer at least in the refrigerator at home, so tamales and beer it is for lunch that day!
Although, today, I did notice she was creating a mini traffic alert by double parking between the Walgreen’s and Berkeley Bowl’s parking lots. She is usually in a legal parking spot when I’ve seen her at Monterey Market.
The vegetable tamales were not that good; everything was disintegrated by heat. Kept too hot! I think I like the chicken tamales best with a lot of the hot sauce. In any case, these tamales need to be carefully unwrapped to avoid being destroyed. I’ve ruined quite a few by being in a hurry!