"The restaurant that won't serve food..." Topic

Okay so this isn't really a rant, but more of a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??? going on here.
It's hard trying to find good tamales here in Indy.
So I discovered a place about two weeks ago, that makes good tamales.
So today I head over there, and am going to order 8 (four beef, four chicken)…
I walk in and the lady at the counter, (old lady with grey hair) says: "Can I help you?
I look up at the menu and say "Yeah, I'd like four beef tamales and four chicken tamales."
She shakes her head no, and then points to a white board with names and numbers attached.
"That's what I got right here." She tells me.
I look..she's got one beef tamale, some spicy pork stuff, etc…
I look at her and say "Ummm…So I can't order what you have on the menu?"
She says "No! That's all I have right here."
And then I say "So..ummm…you can't make anymore?"
She looks at me for a moment as if I were a small disobedient child, and then says "No! We only make a certain amount at the beginning of each day. When they are gone they are gone! And we don't make ANY MORE for the day and you can't order off the menu!"
I then ask her…"Then WHY do you have a menu?"
She says "I guess because we have to have one." Then she says "If you want you can order today for tomorrow."
"So I can order them today and come get them tomorrow? Can you guarantee that they will be here and ready?" I ask her.
"No." She tells me. "We might sell them before you get here or we might not be able to make them at all."
"Huh?" By now I'm confused.
Finally I look around and say "Well…What time do y'all close?" As there is no open/close sign on the door.
She looks at me "Later today…sometime between 4 and 6."
I shake my head and walk out.
Now please, please PLEASE someone explain THAT to me…
They've a full kitchen there, (you can see it), but you can't order off the menu, and they refuse to make anything extra…
Is this the Soviet Union Method of Tamale Sales???

So I walked out, and they've lost my business.

This was just too weird…

No Soup For You !!!!!!!

Was she British?

Was this some little itty-bitty hole in the wall place?
Tamales do take a while to make and I doubt they keep all that well… I know the local place I go to runs out of certain varieties towards the end of the day.

I'm guessing that, despite the confusion, those tamales would be worth going back for a second try.

Forgot to bring your Tamale Ration Card?

Not much of a cheese shop, is it?

"Tamales do take a while to make"

An understatement, that.

Same thing with salads at Wendys… when they run out, they're out for the day…

First come first served.
Make enough product to cover your costs and desired profit.
Don't deal with people who won't accept your answer and continue to ask a bunch of questions.
When sold out, go home, drink a beer, realx and count your money.

As venusboys3 and farstar suggest, you don't just slap tamales together. They are a Project.

What she's doing makes perfect sense to me. The missus says if she ever opens up a restaurant, it's be purely a carte du jour menu. You can order what's on the chalkboard. When something's gone, it gets erased.

Cafes and restaurants and bakeries all over the world operate on that basis, especially if they specialize. Tamales are definitely specialized.

If you're all fired up over tamales, go ahead and spend a day making a few dozen. That'll learn ya.

Allen

Good lord! Do you have any idea how labor-intensive tamales are? You couldn't pay me enough to have to make them. These are not things that you just bung together in 15 minutes or so. Whole families get together to make (and eat) them.

It sounds like their restaurant is open while they have food available, but it really makes no sense to stay open just to turn away customers. I suspect a lot of tamalerias are that way; it just doesn't pay otherwise.

Must hit Delia's some time this summer. Thanks for reminding me.

We have a lot of Hispanics in our community, this sets up the story. Good Tamales are very hard to make and are very labor intensive. A lot of my friends just will not make Tamales, they will order from somebody or go into a place early and buy them. If the Tamales at this place are very good, I would suggest going in early. You cannot beat a really good Tamales.

Mike

I'm happy that I live a block from a great old tamale place… but we always call ahead.

Mmmmmmmmmm tamales, they're my fav; I love pork tamales with a green chili sauce.

I dont think anyone in Indy could make a good tamale. but I have had mine made by mexican grandmothers so I am kinda spoiled. real homade. oh and yes I have helped make tamales before, it aint easy, and all I had to do was grind the pork up.

I know of several places that have this philosophy. They are BBQ places that cook enough to serve from 11-2 and that is it….once they're out, they're out…Ever in Borger, Texas? Sammy's BBQ is VERY HIGHLY recommended…but get there early..

Tamales are not THAT hard to put together, and shouldn't be for a restaurant. Yes, the pork takes a while to cook, but there's no reason a restaurant couldn't have a batch on hand ready to go, since it's a menu item. Pop some corn flour and lard into a mixer and you have masa within minutes. They don't take more than 30 minutes to steam.

My guess is they've lost not only your business but a lot of others, too, and won't BE in business much longer.

Had a Pizza place close to where I lived in Brooklyn that became all the "rave" in the early 80's. Been operated by the same old crabby guy for decades. He'd decide when he'd made enough pizza… When he would and wouldn't make any more pizza…

Yeah, his "stuff" was good…

But as much as I like good food…

I dunno…

Good *is* good,

But food is food (I refuse to duck on this one. I've eaten plenty of it over my 50 + years, got the belly to prove it).

You don't want to make it? It's SO hard to make?
You're SO special that you can be choosy 'bout "whom" you sell it to?

Then get some buzz, drop a dime and hope Zagats comes by for a visit.

You'll get some trade for a while…
Maybe even get the suckers into begging you to serve them, but after a fruit-flies-age you're old news and you're back to cooking for family or shilling for the Food Network.

Just some more discretionary money saved for my hobby.

Chaz

99% of restaurants are willing to compromise in order to get the customer what they want when they want. Convenience isn't that hard to find.

Places that don't compromise are the rarities, partly as Jana says, we don't appreciate them and they go out of business.

There's an old man here who makes a traditional yam "cake". You can get good yam cake anywhere, anytime. His is only available from 8am to 10am when he sells out to long lines.

Lazy?

He works from close to 4pm preparing the ingredients by hand then up at 4am to cook it all. Refuses use machines and can't get completely dedicated workers.

You want the best, you wake up early and join a line.

Amen to the above. Murphy you've made me miss Al and Jo-jo at work. They were a father and son team that used to make tamales once or twice a year. Joe left last year for another gig and Al got laid off. They'd sell them to us. and they were GOOD. Go back, apologize and see if you can get some bulk orders of a dozen or so. They DO freeze up nicely and can be popped in the microwave when needed. If you've found a good place for tamales STAY THERE MAN!

"My guess is they've lost not only your business but a lot of others, too, and won't BE in business much longer."

My bet is that they've been in business since Hector was a small pup, that they have a devoted clientele that provides all the business they need, and that they'll be around a lot longer than… oh, say TMP.

If anyone says that tamales don't take time and effort to make, I don't think I want to be eating their tamales! There's a reason that most families make them only on holidays and special occasions. Proper tamales are steamed for at least two hours. And yes: I know people whose hands seem to diappear as the fill and wrap them, but assembling them is always time-consuming.

Allen

When I was stationed in Korea 03-04 I attempted to order curry from the local "Mom's" outside the gate. She told me it was too hot that day to cook it so choose something else.

I was a bit taken off and then re-ordered the curry, she said no and I ended up getting something else.

I laugh at it now, but I was a bit miffed at the time. She made good curry…

As a prior member of a volunteer fire department and current Lions Club member, I've been behind the counter on a number of food stands. It is almost always better to have a set amount of a particular product, let it sell out and let it be done rather than go and get more and hope it sells (it often doesn't).

The time required to make a dozen tamales isn't too far off from the time needed to make 10 dozen. Not to mention the economy involved in the ingredients. Regardless, were there any guarantees that the 9 dozen Murphy didn't want (and he didn't want a full dozen anyway) would sell? And if they don't, who wants to buy day-old tamales?

I can't recall ever having been to a mom-and-pop tamale place, BBQ stand or any food type that is time or labor intensive that didn't operate in this fashion. Set a limit, stick to it, probably sell out, maybe disappoint a few folks, make a lot more happier, repeat the next day.

My advice Murph, show up earlier next time, buy extra, freeze the leftovers. You'll be glad you did.

I realize now I have never had a tamale – I must plan to try some the next time I am in the states. Somehow, I do not think I will find the best examples in Canada.

Now please, please PLEASE someone explain THAT to me…

It's very simple – their product is so successful, and in such high demand, that they don't have to cater to customer desires, and can do whatever the hell they want.
-Kle.

Lol…

Although, you must admit that deep down you now crave those tamales more than ever. We always want what we can't have.

Well, tamales aside, there is one national chain hotel
which won't be getting our convention business anymore.

Can you believe that last year, they closed the kitchen
Fri-sat-sun ??? we had about 65-70 in residence and
about 150 total attendance, so there were plenty of
folks there…

Bye-bye…

Lovely tamales today for lunch. Chicken, beef and a sweet tamale that had cinnamon and raisins in it.

Would have had corn tamales, but they were out. Darn it.

A lot of small places with good food do that. They whip up a batch of whatever, and when it's gone it's gone. The best barbecue place we know of here does a wonderful fajita beef special on Tuesdays, and about a third of the times we go there for dinner, it is already gone.

Of course, McDonald's will always sell you a big mac and BK will always sell you a whopper. But with something made from scratch, it is a different story.

Same way with the Slash X Cafe, which Murphy should remember. Beautiful prime rib on Thursdays, but only so much, and only as long as it takes to sell out.

Allen

Would have had corn tamales, but they were out. Darn it.

I thought I was savvy with the whole tamale thing, but… corn tamales?

That's corn, wrapped in corn? Then with an outer layer of corn wrapping?
-Kle.

At the risk of being sacrilegious, what is a tamale?

<ducks objects thrown in his direction>

Korsun0, how can you not… yeah ok, me too.

is so special about a Tamale?

Pat

When in doubt…..

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale

Good to see I am not alone Pat!

Thank goodness for Wiki; now I know why I would prefer a pie floater….:)

<ducks even more objects>

cheers
Jon.

Murphy 16 Jun 2009 10:44 a.m. PST
……
Now please, please PLEASE someone explain THAT to me…

*NJH: Advertising that you have something when you don't is lying. Also, the time honored "bait and switch" technique is illegal in many jurisdictions. "I don't have any tamale's, but I have these mighty fine yogurt tacos for just a little more money." They may be the best tamale's in the whole world, but if they don't have them up when you're hungry they aren't worth sawdust.

An enterprising man/woman should open an eatery nearby and offer the same items, but make sure they are well stocked. It appears one could make a lot of money from the rejected/dejected customers of the "Yes, we have no Tamales," people.

Life is too short and my money goes to the business that values my business.

NEXT!

You should try that lady that Robert Johnson sang about.

Apparently her Tamales were red hot, and "yeah she'd got em for sale".

I'm pretty sure it was a song about food…

OK Update: Jamie Oliver is presenting a series from the USA, and now I know what a Tamale is.