The Tamale Guy

Anyone who spent time in their 20s at a bar in Chicago has probably gotten a tamale from The Tamale Guy (even if they don’t remember it). Well Claudio Velez, the actual Tamale Guy, finally opened up his own physical restaurant. And it turns out that his perfectly fluffy tamales are better than ever. Plus, now he also has birria down to a science, made with oxtail, beef cheek, and chuck roast. There's crispy char on both the birria and chihuahua cheese, and you should consider yourself lucky if you can get one before they run out.

photo credit: Kim Kovacik