The tamale was once a familiar presence on Mexican restaurant menus in the United States, sharing space with tacos, burritos and enchiladas. Increasingly, though, diners looking for one may have to search.
Tamale entrées have dropped 7.8% from menus over the past five years, according to Technomic’s Ignite Menu data comparing the second quarters of 2021 and 2026.
One reason may be a basic restaurant calculation: Tamales require considerable labor for something diners expect to be relatively inexpensive.
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Robert Mahon, director of operations for Mahon Hospitality Group, runs Amor Loco and Toro Loco in New York City, neither of which serves tamales. Mahon enjoys tamales himself and said his restaurants have discussed offering them, but the economics can be difficult.
“Even though the ingredients might not be so costly, it’s more the labor,” Mahon told Fox News Digital. “It’s so labor-intensive.”
That labor becomes apparent at Taquería Picoso in Alexandria, Virginia, where executive chef Elio Gomez keeps tamales on the menu.
Gomez said his process takes about three days. His restaurant sources corn from Mexico, then cooks it through an overnight nixtamalization process. The corn is ground into masa, while fillings and banana leaves are prepared separately. The masa must then be mixed with fat, broth and salt and aerated to achieve the right consistency before the tamales can be assembled, carefully wrapped and cooked.
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Training someone to do all that takes time, too. Gomez said he spent months working alongside the employee who now makes his tamales.
Even with a recipe, Gomez said, a cook must learn how the masa should feel and how to wrap each tamale properly, so it doesn’t dry out during cooking.
All that work goes into an item that still doesn’t generate taco-level demand.
“No, definitely it’s not the same demand as a taco, for example,” Gomez said.
Mahon said his customers aren’t clamoring for tamales either.
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“They’re not walking out of our restaurants if they don’t have a tamale,” Mahon said. “It’s not expected as a staple anymore.”
Price presents another complication. Gomez charges $6 for a tamale, a price he considers inexpensive given the work involved. But some customers remember much cheaper versions.
Yet the tamale’s declining presence on restaurant menus doesn’t necessarily mean the food itself is disappearing.
Gomez, who grew up in Mexico City, remembers tamales as an everyday breakfast food sold by street vendors in the morning. In the United States, he sees them being treated more as a special food associated with holidays and family gatherings.
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Asked what he would tell someone eating a tamale for the first time, Gomez described the masa as fluffy, the dish as rich and its appeal as deeply comforting.
“You feel like you’re getting a hug when you’re eating a tamale,” he said.
