In Civic Center's "Heart of the City" farmers' market, which is open on Wednesdays and Sundays...
...the most popular food booth belongs to an East Bay company called All Star Tamales.
They distribute their 14 varieties of tamales out of their headquarters in Pittsburg, and at four farmers' markets around the Bay Area: in Walnut Creek, downtown Oakland, and Alemany and Civic Center in San Francisco.
The lines in the Civic Center on a Wednesday can be daunting around noon when all the nearby government office workers come by for an inexpensive lunch of $2.75 for a single tamale, $5.00 for two, and even cheaper as you buy more.
This doesn't deter many people from their corn meal fix, and the usually grungy United Nations Plaza along Market Street turns into an open-air carbohydrate heaven.
When Mike was gracious enough to score me an entrance to the samurai exhibit at the Asian, I tried the tamales and I confirm that he is absolutely correct. Excellent taste at an excellent price.
ReplyDeleteDear Matty: I think they're in your neighborhood too at the Oakland farmer's market.
ReplyDeleteThey smell utterly delicious but I'm afraid that my blood sugar count would ascend into the stratosphere if I ate one - so I enjoy it vicariously by watching other people.
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