Where to find pineapple tamales in Los Angeles?

September 21, 2013 7:52 PM

Where can I buy sweet pineapple tamales in Los Angeles WITHOUT raisins or nuts or anything else mixed in? Ideally, I wouldn't need to buy at least a dozen or order them ahead of time. Thanks!
posted by fozzie_bear to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Mom's Tamales-- I've never tried the pineapple ones here, but there's a photo of the menu with ingredients listed, and it only lists pineapple and sugar. And there are a dozen reviews mentioning the pineapple tamales, and not one mentions raisins/nuts. Of course you should call for availability.
posted by acidic at 8:23 PM on September 21, 2013

La Mascota Bakery but I can't recall if they have raisins.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:47 PM on September 21, 2013

Tamale guy at the Melrose Place Farmer's Market on Sundays. People get bundles of tamales ToGo from this guy all the time. A friend of mine swears by them.

I have no idea what the booth is called, but there's only one tamale guy there, so you can't miss him.
posted by jbenben at 8:47 PM on September 21, 2013

No idea about the raisin thing, but I was just getting up to speed on LA tamales (sweet? really? whoa...) and saw King Taco's pineapple tamales mentioned in this LA Times guide to the best tamales. They seem to be a pretty ubiquitous chain, so it seems like a good candidate for quantity. Though, again, you might want to call ahead about the whole raisins thing.
posted by Sara C. at 9:04 PM on September 21, 2013

This place is fantastic. I had their pineapple once, I do not remember there being anything else in them, but you might call to be sure.
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:03 PM on September 21, 2013

King Taco's pineapple tamales

Going to King Taco just to buy tamales = going to McDonalds just to buy apple slices. Dry, barely any filling, and not fresh.
posted by acidic at 11:07 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

My husband recommends Tamale Man in El Sereno
posted by amapolaroja at 4:56 PM on September 22, 2013

He also says King Tacos sweet tamales are actually pretty good. Their dough is really good but on the meat ones they skimp on the meat. People line up to buy the dough there. This is at the Broadway location in Lincoln Heights where they have a bakery.
posted by amapolaroja at 5:02 PM on September 22, 2013

My husband recommends Tamale Man in El Sereno

... these have raisins, unless something has changed recently. So does La Mascota, I think.
posted by acidic at 12:30 PM on September 23, 2013