Yvolina’s Tamales

If i die and go to heaven its got to be Yvolinas Tamale Heaven! i got introduced to this God food at Weiss Hospital thursday market outside the senior center, i couldnt stop chomping down 2 of these gigantic melt in your mouth tamales. All the ingredients she uses are organic and also she uses Olive Oil for cooking. I had the Kale, Quinoa lentil and Spinach queso so far. I bought home chicken and poblano pepper tamales which the hubby loved. Anxiously waiting for her fast food place to open, her friends who speak english told me Yvolinas tacos are equally amazing.
The day after the big snowstorm yesterday i picked up the quinoa tamale which has lentils and some yummy flavor. I feel like the tamale smuggler who was on the news recently for crossing the border with over 1000 tamales, for Yvolinas i might do the same :)

Simply amazing. Got a recommendation to try the tamales from the people I buy produce from at the farmer’s market. Waited until Thursday to actually act on that recommendation – so many wasted Thursdays! These tamales are just head and shoulders above everything I have ever eaten – the flavors are outstanding, complex and subtle, and the combinations are just the best. Try the kale. Try the spinach and cheese. Try them all. You will not be disappointed.

Can’t wait for this shop to re-​open in expanded form. While I love their tamales, it’s their mole that I really love! Such kind people too.

I love her tamales. They are Oaxacan style, wrapped in banana leaves, bigger than the normal tamales that you are used to seeing.
She seasons the masa very well and the tamales comes out in the most moist delicious bites. There are always meat and good vegetarian options. Sometimes mole sauce makes an appearance… I am kind of used to being surprised when I get there.
Popular flavors on the menu:
Pork with red or green sauce
Chicken in green or red sauce
Poblano
Spinach w/​mushroom
In the summer, I get them at the Pilsen Farmer’s Market, in the winter, she is set up at this corner store expanding her business into a small food counter. You can pre-​order if you want them for a party too!

Yvolina was selling her tamales on Sundays at the Pilsen Farmers Market and I fell in love with them there. She very recently opened up her little diner at the back of a Mexican grocery store and they share this address on 18^th St in Pilsen.
Yvolina is committed to using fresh and mostly organic ingredients in the food she prepares. I stopped in today for a bit of lunch and when I sat down at the counter she put a big glass of the most amazing and fresh Kale, Mango, Lime liquado without even asking me if I wanted it. I told her to make me whatever she thought was her best quick dish of the day so she proceeded to make a big hand-​made tortilla, grilled up some eggplant, onions, and tomatoes… and filled the tortilla with those veggies and some Mexican cheese. Mmmmm… it was huge!
If you want fresh, authentic, lovingly prepared, Mexican food then by all means come see Yvolina or just plain Lina as she is often called. I’ll be there as often as I can!