Archive for August, 2010

>The Tamale Place – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 22, 2010 in atole, elote, indianapolis, Masa, Pozole, Tamales, The Tamale Place with 1 Comment

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Indianapolis, Indiana


THE TAMALE GETS A MAKEOVER

The Tamale Place owners Angela Green and Vladimir Ronces opened a new location this week for their Mexican feel good tamale store. More precisely, they shut the doors on the original location and moved everything into a freshly built-out space just 500 feet to the east! Located in the strip near the corner of Rockville and Lynhurst roads, the new location looks like a clean and tidy retail front with a lots of elbow room for making their huge tamales.

Get there early or be disappointed. The tamale selection changes daily and the early bird gets to pick. People come for the large menu of various mild, spicy, vegetarian and dessert tamales though large tortas, tacos and seasonal favorites (pozole and atole in winter and fresh elote in summer) round out the menu. Know for their great tasting fresh masa and corn tortillas, the take home sized bag of tortilla chips are thick and crunchy favorites.

The current menu is available on their website and includes traditional favorites such as poblano and cheese, pork in red sauce and chicken in mole as well as delicious new favorites such as thin cigar sized pork and beef Cubans, medium red pork Recession Tamales and dessert tamales of pineapple and raisin, pumpkin or chocolate.

The Tamale Place is known for serving up big tamales with generous amounts of meat. Too much meat if you ask me. My Hot and Spicy pork (which was neither hot nor spicy mind you) and my Chicken Verde had way too much meat on them to appreciate the masa… hey guys…I’m in it for the corn taste too!

My favorite are the smaller Cuban tamales. They’re succulent, the right mix of meat to masa and are perfectly tasty. The Poblano and Cheese are also wonderful and gain from the moisture and salt of the cheese. The Chipotle Beef were ok…a little under-seasoned but moist. The Lil’ Red Sweetie dessert tamales made me chuckle as I bit into the yummy bright red colored sugar and masa cake.

Congrats on the move guys. The new digs are nice. I hope this means business is booming and that we might see a few more of you popping up around town.

Tamales for world peace.

Tamale Place on Urbanspoon

>Pigs In The Mud – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 15, 2010 in Chocolate Bacon, indianapolis, State Fair, Vosges Chocolate with No comments

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Indianapolis, Indiana

HERE PIGGY PIGGY!

Cooked bacon dipped in dark chocolate, frozen, gathered on a plate and sprinkled with confectioners sugar. DELISH! I’ve followed and wallowed in the bacon and chocolate trend over the last few years (Vosges Chocolate Mo’s bar, bacon and chocolate cupcakes, bacon chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered pork cracklins to name a few) and its finally come to fruition as the best selling food item at everyman’s event, the Great Indiana State Fair. Can I get an Amen?

>Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 10, 2010 in Aji, Choros a la Chalaca, indianapolis, Lomo Saltado, Machu Picchu, Papa Rellena, Peruvian with No comments

>Indianapolis, Indiana

GOOD ALL YEAR ROUND

It’s a hot humid summer day and of course I’m in the mood for a big bowl of steamy soup and a large hearty hot meal, right? I don’t understand it myself, but none the less I knew just where to go.

In winter I find myself tucking-in for a satisfying hot lunch at Machu Picchu Peruvian restaurant on west 38th street at least once a week. They always have large hearty lunch specials and…well…frankly, I’m addicted to their white buttered bread and Aji dipping sauce (peppers, egg, oil, cilantro and green onions…though I can’t get them to give me the exact recipe).

The $6.99 lunch special is almost always a large soup followed with a main of meat, starch and salad. The soups traditionally range from chicken, beef, barley, bean or seasonal corn. The starches are almost always rice, potatoes or yucca (or a combination of two or more…they love their carbs) and the salads are most often a twist on a salsa criolla with onions and tomatoes, cilantro or greens or maybe beets and shredded root vegetables.

Machu Picchu has always been on my favorites list for it’s good tasting quick lunchtime service. Here are a few of their menu selections that keep me coming back for more;


Choros a la Chalaca – Peruvian style Mussels on the half shell ceviched with lime, red onion, aji and rocoto peppers, corn kernels and cilantro.

Yuquitas a la Huancaína – Fried yucca sticks with creamy cheese sauce (think of it as “chips” with gravy or fries with mayonaise, etc).

Lomo Saltado – Peruvian stir fry with beef tenderloin, onion, tomatoes, french fries (mixed in) and cilantro served with white rice.

Papa Rellena – fried potato ball stuffed with minced beef heart  – HUGE portion and delicious  (think of it as rösti with minced wienerschnitzel or tater tots with meatballs).

And to top it all off make sure you order an Inca Cola (or get a 2 liter to go). I’m usually not a pop or cola fan but the lemon verbena zing of the bright yellow drink makes me smile.

$6.99 Lunch Special – Chicken and onion herb vegetable soup, fried pork
with red onion and beet salad,  fried yucca and white rice

Machu Picchu on Urbanspoon