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August 06, 2004Good EatsI was a bit surprised when a comment came in yesterday afternoon on an old post. Naturally, I presumed that it was comment spam as usual. However, the name gave me pause. Well, one thing led to another, and in the same spirit of my sis Kelley's seal of approval, I've got a product to recommend to the gentle readers here. Almost exactly a year ago, I jumped in on the interview meme that was running through the blogosphere and did one with the ever intriguing Wendy of Per Aspera. One of her questions was about food: 4) What is your all-time favorite restaurant? Wow—all time? I couldn’t pick just one so here are a few of my tops— Hugo’s Frog Bar Okay, that’s enough for now. When I first responded to her interview, I linked several of the restaurants, but did not link one. Well, you had to expect in this internet-worked world, it would catch up with me. I received a comment from the very head of Pasquale's Tamales himself. Joe St. Columbia, Jr., is the grandson of the Pasquale the company is named for and is running the business now. He dropped a comment that included the address for the Pasquale's website. I emailed him back shortly thereafter as I had met his father several years back while I was working on a congressional campaign. And true to our good Southern folks form, he emailed me back and invited me to stop for a tour of the tamale factory and samples! Now, gentle readers, I don't know how to explain how much I love these folks' tamales. To fully grasp the significance, you'd have to understand the story about how a family of Italian immigrants befriended Mexican immigrants in the agrarian South years ago and began swapping recipes. Cultural history aside, the blend of Italian and Mexican cooking expertise makes for what I believe to be one of the finest tamales in the nation. And here's one of the best parts--you can order them online now! Tell the truth, there were times when I was in New Hampshire and NYC earlier this year when I yearned for my own kind of comfort food--genuine Southern food and sweet tea. I was lucky enough to find a supplier of sweet tea in Manchester, NH, but had no such look in the areas of Manhattan that I frequented. It's a little comforting to know that wherever I may go in the U.S., I'll still be able to get my hands on some Pasquale's Tamales. It's really more important than you might think. (I'm not sure where to fit this in, but any tamale whose slogan and URL is SuckTheShuck.com is definitely worth trying out!) (Second-not-sure-where-this-fits-in-aside, I wonder if our pal Jett has ever had the opportunity to sample this fine food when she has been to see the family in Helena?) Posted by Adam H at August 6, 2004 06:24 AM ~ Link Cosmos | Trackbacks (0)Comments
Hey! Wendy is my gurl! She's the coolest. You should try to meet her, since you guys are fellow Arkansans. I think you've mentioned Pasquales Tamales in conversation before...they *must* be good! Posted by: kelley at August 6, 2004 10:52 AMMy family is Napoli, but with wops being so few and far between in the Delta, we all tend to know one another. >:O) And yes, my friend, I've had these tamales, and you speak nothing but the truth. (There's LOTS of great food in the area, as you well know) Plus, the proprieters is jes' plain nice folks. Posted by: Jett at August 6, 2004 01:46 PMPost a comment
 
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