Defending tamale champ Me Gusta is all wrapped up and ready to roll
THE unassuming gray industrial building set back off Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima doesn’t resemble a restaurant as much as a small factory. Inside the facility, there is nothing that would indicate you are within striking distance of the city’s best tamales.
Until you take a bite. After tucking into a chile-cheese tamale with its contrasting marriage of Anaheim chile strips and mild Monterey Jack cheese or after nibbling a succulent pork tamale with just a hint of green sauce, it’s easy to see why Me Gusta Gourmet Tamales swept five of the six categories at last year’s 2nd annual Los Angeles International Tamale Festival. Me Gusta will defend its title at this year’s event in MacArthur Park this weekend.
The Ortega family has run Me Gusta for close to 10 years. Roberto Ortega Sr. helped start the company, which he continues to operate with his five children and two sons-in-law.
Ortega’s son Joel is a bit of a tamale scholar, quick to launch into a history of its abundant utilitarian charms. “They were first created by the Aztec and Mayan Indians,” Joel says. “Cornmeal was one of the first preservatives, so they realized if they wrapped it around meat, it would preserve it.”
Me Gusta specializes in half a dozen basic tamale varieties, but occasionally the Ortegas jazz it up. Around Lent, they offer a shrimp tamale. They also flirted with a strawberry-cream cheese tamale for a while.
Several elements go into building the perfect tamale, including handling the cornmeal with care. “You can’t overmix it or undermix it,” says Roberto Ortega’s son-in-law Miguel Vazquez, the production and quality control manager.
Joel Ortega’s tip is wrapping the tamale in a fresh, green corn husk -- instead of the usual dry one -- to keep it moist during the 80-minute steaming process.
While patrons steadily stream into Me Gusta, at least 80% of business comes from the 30 farmers’ markets from Ventura County to Orange County, where they set up shop every week. Pork and chicken are the top sellers, except in Ojai. “They like the veggie tamale,” Vazquez says. “They’re more health-conscious.”
But for now, Joel Ortega is focused on the tamale festival and adding more statues to the cash register ledge.
-- Melinda Newman
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL TAMALE FESTIVAL
WHERE: MacArthur Park/Mama’s Hot Tamales Cafe, 2124 W. 7th St., L.A..
WHEN: 3-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m-9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
PRICE: Free
INFO: www.eastlosangeles.net /tamalefestival
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