The seasonal return of Green Corn Tamales

>Well, even if we still have a couple rainy days coming up next week the wet half of LA’s two season climate (wet & dry) is almost over. This morning one of the surest signs appeared, not a robin on a branch but an e-mail from El Cholo that Green Corn Tamales will return to the menu on May Day. ¡Fantastico! !Viva El Cholo!
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>Sure, Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck do great things, but this is one of LA’s greatest and most beloved comfort foods, like a double dipped beef sandwich at Phillipe’s or a Tommy’s chili burger on the way home from a pub crawl. It is like bacon and eggs at the Original Pantry, a Pastrami Sandwich at Langer's or a Chili Dog at Carnies.
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>The green corn tamales are simplicity itself. They are fresh sweet white corn kernels mixed with chilies and sweet salty white cheese encased in masa dough, wrapped in dried corn husks and steamed until all the ingredients melt into a sweet fresh soul caressing wholeness.
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>Of the original El Cholo on Western Avenue down near USC and the other new locations I prefer the one in Pasadena. The original has a great bar but the chaotic cluster of dinning rooms and the often brusk “tourist trap” service and the crowds put me off.
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>The one thing about El Cholo besides being LA’s oldest Mexican Restaurant is the reality that it is family owned and even more is very much a kitchen that still cooks in the style of the family’s Sonora heritage. The Green Corn Tamales and a number of their signature dishes are very authentic Sonora cooking. The piled up not rolled enchiladas and the choizo tostada for example are also Sonoran as are the pinto beans.
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>When you need soothing affirmative comfort food, I commend El Cholo and the Green Corn Tamales, a bowl of guacamole prepared table side and a bottle of cold Dos XX and what more could you want.
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