Chili Today...Hot Tamale

Dilworth's Tamales
111 Taylor Street
Corinth, Mississippi

Though I came to town in search of slugburger, the folks at the town's tourist info bureau pointed me just down the street to another local delicacy, Corinth-style tamales. "You know about Delta tamales," Ms. Amy Thompson, who was running the show that day, inquired. I nodded and smiled like I always do when I have no idea what somebody is talking about. "Well, we've got our own little tamale pocket right here in town. Southern Living even came and did an article on them." By God, if it's good enough for Southern Living it's probably more than I deserve.

The name of the place I went is Dilworth's, and it's a drive-up, cash only joint just on the far side of the tracks from the square. There's another place, White Trolley, that serves them as well, on 72nd. From what I hear, back in the olden days, a tamale cart used to go through town, and whoever was pushing it would holler "TAMALES" for all they were worth until you just couldn't take it anymore and came out and got some. They were three for a quarter. "You should get a dozen" Amy insisted.

I thought to myself, good Lord, a dozen tamales? That's a lot, even for someone who's pretty fond of them, as I happen to be. See, I'm used to Mexican restaurant tamales, about the size of a Twinkie. I did get a dozen, on good advice. And in fact, the menu listed prices in units of half a dozen right on up into the hundreds. Somebody must be a tamale rolling fool in there. Maybe that's what Tommy Chong is up to these days.

I got em to go, and a cold Coke, and found a place to pull over and settled in on my tailgate for a little treat. It was like Christmas, suspecting, but not knowing quite what I'd find inside. First, the foil outer layer. Then a layer of wax paper, revealing tubes of waxed paper within. Once past these thermal and hydprophobic hurdles, I got my first look at the tamales themselves. A good ten inches long (we've all heard that one before) and about as big around as your bird finger. Steam rose from the cornmeal outers, bringing up a familiar scent of spiced meat and steamed meal. They looked like really long sausages, or those tube worms discovered in the ocean deeps, living off thermal vents. Well, if tube worms taste like this, warm up my wetsuit. Unlike the Twinkie type, there was not so much a clearly defined shell and filling. These were more all mixed up, perhaps a bit more meaty towards the middle. Altogether delicous, the hot hot enough to qualify, and the mild tasty, too. And I can tell you that, unlike the dead, they're nearly as good cold in a motel room the next day.