Tortilleria Sinaloa: Fells Point, Baltimore, MD, USA
My biggest mistake was not finding out about this place sooner and eating tamales until it came out my nose and ears. This is legit Mexican people. L-e-g-i-t. Many of my friends know that I am not the biggest fan of tex-mex. I can take a Chipotle salad, but in general, I do not like tex-mex. I do however, love authentic Mexican food like homemade guacamole, fresh tortillas and above all, homemade tamales. I had probably the best tamale in my life here at Tortilleria Sinaloa. It even beats the abuela-made tamales that my roommate’s dad would fly up from Brownsville back during my Notre Dame days. That’s how legit this is. I tried three things:
- tamale con pollo y queso: standard chicken and cheese in a corn husk
- tamale oaxacalan: seasoned pork-belly tamale wrapped and cooked in banana leaf
- homemade guacamole
While Tortilleria Sinaloa is known for their fresh chips and their tacos, they need to be put on the map for their tamales. Especially the Tamale Oaxacalan.
Tamale con Pollo y Queso (Chicken and Cheese tamale)
PROS
- moist and not dried out like Trader Joe’s frozen ones
- meat was also moist, good quantity
CONS
- couldn’t really taste the cheese but overall was good for a tamale
- slightly small for $2 when I’ve had ones the same size for $1 in Chicago. Then again, those were sold off the bed of a pickup truck so I suppose this isn’t really a con if you factor in rent and utilities as well as labor.
homemade tamales
Tamale Oaxacalan
PROS
- best tamale I’ve had in my life
- pork belly was so full of flavor: fat melts right into the masa
- banana leaf adds a nice tropical scent/flavor but is not overpowering
CONS
- not the healthiest: tamales are made with lard so the extra pork fat doesn’t help with the cholesterol
- I didn’t order two of these
tamale oaxacalan
Guacamole
PROS
- Fresh
- can order different sizes
CONS
- not as chunky as I would like it. I like nice big chunks of avocado to scoop onto my tortilla chips.
fresh guacamole
As mentioned before, I am so sad that I discovered this gem of a place only 2 weeks before I head out of Baltimore. I love it so much I may actually come back and order six tamales for the road. They’re a bit hard to find but you can’t miss the big sign on the left side of the road. Definitely look them up:
1716 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 276-3741
buen provecho!
R/g
Rammiegirl 2.0 
I think I should head over to my mom’s to make some tamales, because your pictures made my mouth water! Greetings from Mexico 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by! You definitely should go to your momma’s! The first tamale I had in my life was from Monterrey when my college roommate’s father brought them from her grandmother’s. I’ve been a tamale snob ever since!