clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Hunt for Chicago's Late-Night Tamale Guy

Drunk food worth searching for

Welcome to a Very Special episode of Dining on a Dime. This week, host Lucas Peterson isn’t venturing out to a particular restaurant — he’s in search of a legend, or maybe a myth. The Tamale Guy is well-known around the bars in Chicago's Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Ukrainian Village neighborhoods, but it’s not easy to know when — or even if — he'll show up at your location with a cooler full of masa, steamed in corn husks and filled with meat or cheese.

The Tamale Guy just knows. He shows up when you need him most — when you’re drunk, hungry, and in need of a good, hot Mexican snack. Peterson, however, is determined to locate the Tamale Guy on this particular night, and sets off on a hunt. Using local intel and clues from around the neighborhood, he goes on a search for the local legend. Will he find him?

More episodes of Dining on a Dime: Chicago Edition | Subscribe to Eater on Youtube