Tamales at Juannita’s

Next on my list was Juannita’s, which I was excited to try since this was my first time going to Juannita’s. I grew up in Bloomington and Juannita’s has been around for most of my life, but I have never been to Juannita’s, which is surprising considering that Mexican food is my favorite!

Anyway, I loved the atmosphere at Juannita’s with all of the vibrant colors and cozy setting. It felt like walking into someone’s home.

Then, fresh chips and salsa were brought to our table, and to be honest, the salsa at Juannita’s is the best salsa in town! It was so fresh and flavorful, and it had perfect texture (not too watery, not too chunky). And I have been to most of the Mexican restaurants in Bloomington, with the exception of Juannita’s. I had no idea what I was missing out on…

Then, I ordered Tamales Juanna, which came as four tamales with rice and beans. I chose Salsa Verde with chicken as the filling since I had gotten chicken tamales at La Poblana and wanted to be able to fairly compare these tamales.

And…TAMALES!!

Wow, I was so impressed when these arrived at my table. The tamales from La Poblana were nice looking, but these were stunning. Also, these tamales looked like how I expected tamales to look like. The tamales from La Poblana were square shaped and wrapped in banana leaves, which is a variety of tamales, but not a variety I had learned about in the research I did for this project. I was expecting tamales to come wrapped in corn husks like little presents of flavor, which is definitely how I would describe the tamales at Juannita’s.

Inside of the tamales, I paid close attention to the texture and flavor of the masa dough as well as the filling. The masa dough melted in my mouth and it was flavorful, but not spicy. However, the chicken with salsa verde filling was spicy and tender. Also, the filling to dough ratio was much more proportional than the tamales at La Poblana, which made me very happy. After eating these tamales, I understand why this dish is essential to and valued in Mexican cuisine.

Firstly, the presentation of tamales was more exciting than I was expecting. It was like opening presents on Christmas morning, except these were presents I could eat. Then, the taste and flavor of the tamales was very balanced between the warm, soft masa dough and the delicious, spicy filling. I am looking forward to making tamales in my kitchen and sharing them with my family.

The original plan was to try Bivi’s Tamales next, but I ran out of time and had trouble locating a time and place to pick up their tamales. I do plan, in the future, to try Bivi’s Tamales, but unfortunately, that will not be included for this project.

Next up in this project, I am taking to the kitchen to try to put everything I have read, learned, and tasted over the past month to the test. It’s time to make some tamales!