Tacos Tequila Whiskey Trades Taco Tuesday for Tamales

Leave it to the geniuses at Tacos Tequila Whiskey (TTW) to give us another reason to jump out of bed on a Tuesday: handmade tamales. Never a restaurant to do the expected—it did give Denver the “queso a la plancha” taco, after all, which eschews a tortilla in favor of a shell of griddled cotija cheese—TTW recently launched Tamal Tuesdays, offering a rotating selection of from-scratch tamales for lunch and dinner at each of its three locations.

Pedro Bernal, the sous chef at the Governor’s Park location, created the masa and filling recipes for the tamales; cooks at each restaurant craft about 80 of the corn-husk-steamed tamales every Tuesday morning. (Note to plant-based eaters: There’s lard in the masa. Note to all eaters: Once each location runs out of tamales, Tamal Tuesday is over. Go early.)

For now, there are five flavor options, ranging from $2 to $4 each, which will rotate among TTW’s restaurants. Tender adobo lamb comes topped with corn, guajillo mayo, and cilantro; chicken in salsa roja is garnished with avocado crema and pickled onions; “rajas con queso” (grilled poblanos with Monterey Jack) is paired with sour cream and chives; pork chile verde gets fresh, creamy notes from sour cream and cilantro; and the rich mole poblano chicken—our favorite—gets a tangy top note from queso fresco.

Bonus: If you call on Saturday or Sunday, you can order your favorite variety by the dozen for Tuesday pickup.

If you go: Tamal Tuesday begins at 11 a.m. and ends when the tamales are gone. A different tamal will be available at every location.