United States Mississippi Rosedale
White Front Cafe Joe's Hot Tamale Place
Iconic eatery renowned for its spicy, handmade hot tamales, serving a beloved Delta specialty in a down-home, historic setting.
- 902 Main Street
- (662) 759-3842
- http://white-hot-tamale-place.jany.io/
Tips from the community
Off the beaten track - in the historic river town of Rosedale, Mississippi - you’ll find the White Front Cafe in a little white building on the Great River Road (also known as Highway 1 or Main Street), which doubles as the main drag for the town. In business for over 50 years, the White Front Cafe serves only one thing: tamales. Made from beef brisket and corn meal with a secret blend of spices, these tamales are boiled rather than steamed, which allows the flavors from the filling to permeate through the tamale. It also makes the tamales easy to spread on saltine crackers. For your drink, ask Ms Barabara for an ice-cold RC cola from the fridge. If you’re looking for the best tamales in the Delta, this is one place that you must try.
jvandergriff 11 months ago
White Front Cafe Joe's Hot Tamale Place Guides
The Delta Tamale Trail
jvandergriff (Jody Vandergriff) The “Cotton Rush” of the turn of the last century brought all sorts of cultures and nationalities to the Mississippi Delta. One such group were the Mexicans who could make more picking cotton in the Delta than they could make anywhere else in the country. Of course they brought their food with them, and the “hot tamale” was introduced to the African-American laborers who worked beside them. That’s one theory, anyway. Other theories suggest that tamale recipes were brought back from the Mexican-American War, or that the Native Americans had been making tamales all along. However they got here, we’re glad they did! At any rate, the popularity of the tamale took off because of their portability, affordability, and full flavor. You may ask yourself how the Mexican tamale is different from the Delta tamale. According to the Southern Foodways Alliance, the Delta tamale differs in that, “Tamales from the Mississippi Delta are smaller than Latin-style tamales, are simmered instead of steamed, have a gritty texture from the use of corn meal instead of corn flour, have considerably more spice, and are usually served with juice that is the byproduct of simmering.” There are dozens of great places to try the different varieties of Delta Tamales (some places even deep fry them) throughout the region and we’re going to name some of them below. And if you’re really, really into tamales, you don’t want to miss the Delta Hot Tamale Festival which takes place in Greenville every October