Factory Tamal

Tamales are known as a traditional Mexican dish. Today, few Mexican restaurants in New York brave this time-intensive process, known as nixtamalization. Some buy fresh masa; others rely on dehydrated nixtamal. But at Factory Tamal, a small, mostly takeout shop on the Lower East Side, Fernando Lopez is faithful to the ancient Mayan way. The tamales are made from scratch. We grind the corn ourselves, trying to stay traditional as possible. All the tamales contain chicken broth and pork lard.

Factory Tamal moved a block west from its original Essex Street location not long ago into 34 Ludlow St., between Hester and Grand streets, Lower East Side. We still have a selection of freshly made tamales served in their corn husks, with fillings that run to green chiles with onions and tomatoes, the milder chicken with salsa verde and spicier chicken chipotle, and chicken mole poblano.