Ask Mama

That's The Great Punkydunky with Mama of Mama's Tamales in Stiletto City. What a great story it is. Mama's shop is on MacArthur Park, once the finest neighborhood in the city, then the worst neighborhood in the city, and now attempting a comeback because of people like Mama.

She noticed all these illegal vendors in the park, which was ringed with dope dealers and homeless transients. The vendors were selling homemade tamales from homemade carts. After talking to them, she realized each one was selling a different tamal from a different place. Each was delicious.

So she called the city and managed to establish a Vending District. That gave her grant money to build a kitchen, and after she did that she invited all the tamale vendors to come prepare their tamales in her kitchen. They were very happy to do so, although she mandated that they take the lard out of their masa and begin using organic products.

Then, Mama built a big cafe. Now, the vendors sell their tamales in the cafe, made with healthy products and by santitary methods, and, trust Plottie on this, they are amazing! This one...



...comes from Oaxaca and is filled with black mole and chicken.

The vendors are becoming citizens. A few are opening their own places. Do you want to talk about immigration? Do you want to see how a little help in the right direction can pay off? Ask Mama.