I have found the place to get my Christmas tamales! It's Tienda Morelos on Michigan Avenue. This one is called Tienda Morelos 6, because apparently there are at least five other Tienda Morelos in Indy? That's a lot of Tienda Morelos.
You see: Tamales are very important to me -- they are a part of my DNA. So finding great tamales in Indy is very exciting, indeed.
I happened upon Tienda Morelos because I was visiting a restaurant next door to this one. I popped in and found an amazing (although small) store that sells tamales and also pan dulce, fresh produce, chicharrones, packaged foods and more. All of the signs are in Spanish and everyone speaks Spanish, which is a great sign when you're looking for great Mexican food. The best tamales come from places where the people selling the tamales don't speak English, I've found.
To buy the tamales, you need to pay at the front register first. You tell them how many tamales you want, and then you pay for that number. They give you a little slip of paper with the number of tamales you paid for. Then, you take your piece of paper to the tamale counter, and you pick which flavor of tamale you want, and the quantity. I got one pork and one chicken. They were both amazing: lots of masa but also lots of juicy meat. Not too much sauce, but also not dry. These are the best tamales I've eaten in Indianapolis so far.
Tamales are just a small portion of the offerings at Tienda Morelos. They have a full panaderia in the store, plus a carniceria and other grocery items. The place is super small and slightly cramped, but the people are friendly and helpful, so it's a nice little place to shop after you've loaded up on tamales. read more