August 2, 2015: I tweeted in all caps, “MAD AT YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE FOR NOT TELLING ME HOW DELICIOUS TAMALES ARE.”
Those who know me well might consider me to be somewhat of a picky eater. Maybe I am to an extent, and perhaps that’s why I spent the vast majority of my life having never tried a tamale. But on a wonderful, early August evening, I mustered up the gall to dig into this unfamiliar food.
Well, per my tweet, it should come as no surprise that I’m now a huge fan of (los) tamales. And since this new fandom resulted, good golly, I knew I absolutely had to try Good Golly Tamale. This resolution, settled and affirmed by fellow tamale lovers, left me trying to figure out when and where I might be able to find this, at the time, solely mobile food vendor.
Then, there I was one afternoon, answering the call of my caffeine addiction at Old City Java, when I saw a curious sign hanging in what used to be the quaint Aisle Nine market. Good Golly Tamale, the sign read. This was it. It was time for this new tamale connoisseur to partake in what had long been something I had kept a curious distance from around town and at the farmers market.
Except it wasn’t. It wasn’t time. They were still setting into their new digs, but the time would soon come on October 2 — mine and tamales’ big two month anniversary. We celebrated lavishly, and Good Golly Tamale’s tamales did not disappoint.
Their new brick-and-mortar location is pleasant and keeps with the scruffy vibe of the Old City. Complete with featured art on the walls, plants and other interesting décor, the space is everything you might expect from an Old City eatery.
This location fills a more quick-service oriented and affordable niche that was, largely, previously left unmet in the area. How great is it to be able to stop in and grab a quick, affordable bite to eat downtown? Tamales are $4 a piece, but plates may also be purchased for $9 that include a tamale, two sides and salsa. For side items, you can choose from soup, beans, greens, rice and curtido — a fermented cabbage dish.
I have yet to try the sides, though I have little doubt they’re nothing short of stupendous; instead I opted for two classic tamales during my first visit. As I become increasingly more adventurous in the culinary world, I plan to try to the chicken tinga tamale (chicken, roasted tomato, tomatillo, onion and chipotle) with some of this fermented cabbage — something my pre-tamale eating self would have turned his nose up to.
Good Golly Tamale is located at 112 S Central Street in Knoxville.
Last year, restaurant owner of Good Golly Tamale set up on the street side, but recently opened up his own store front in Old City in Knoxville.
