We went to Zeitgeist (great bar with patio and bike parking and a grill out back — and some filthy bathrooms) last night for my friend’s birthday. It turns out that June 24 is also the Tamale Lady’s birthday! The Tamale Lady is patron saint to San Francisco hipsters — she travels from bar to bar with coolers full of tamales and a bottle of hot sauce, and saves you from yourself when you’re too drunk and hungry to feed yourself. Here she is, dressed in hot pink, serving some birthday-special chicken mole out of some really big pots.
It was a damn good chicken mole. It also came with some really odd pasta salad. This plate of food and all-you-could-drink Speakeasy beer was $10. Not a bad birthday party.
Tamales covered in mole are pretty amazing too. Her prices seem to have gone up — it was $3.50 each, where I remember paying $2.. but that was years ago, so perhaps it’s just inflation and rising food prices.
Fat is flavor 
I just read about Zeitgeist somewhere.
Also, we totally ran into the Tamale Lady when I was over there, but sadly, we had just come from eating those massive belly torpedoes they call burritos at El Farolito. Oh, and drinking our respective weights in beer. So no tamales. But next time.
Joyce, you share a birthday with the Tamale Lady!
We should meet up there for Joyce’s birthday next year!
Zeitgeist is one of my favorite bars. The only problem is that it’s too cold in San Francisco to comfortably stand outside for hours while drinking cold beer. But now that we’ve figured out the optimal no-hill bike route between our apartment and the bar, I just might have to go more often.
They will also make you a gin and tonic in a pint glass.
G&T in a pint glass? It already feels like home.
I know someone who’s going to be the Tamale Lady for Halloween. Genius!
i’m trying to convince someone to be Winnie for Halloween. I think it might work.
Zeitgeist is amazing and that’s where I first encountered the Tamale Lady myself! So I’ve got a slow food question for you. Can you email me when you get a moment? The pig head continues to occupy my thoughts. I’m frantically searching around chicago for a butchering class…