Trunk Tamales from the Home Depot parking lot | Lunch With Kenji

[@mxxo4239]

Is it cash only or does she have a card reader?

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

She takes tap-to-pay cards. No magnetic reader.

[@grouchosaidit5454]

Kenji, it's great that you give recognition to Joanna. Very powerful and certainly can make a difference to fuel her business. Thank you.

[@killerdrgn]

Thanks Kenji! Just tried these tamales, and my wife and i think they are definitely the best bought tamales that we've had. The lady is also very grateful for you putting up this video, she mentioned that she's already seen a very strong uptick of people that aren't her usual customers today.

[@mm8436]

Kenji using his celebrity to help people ❤️

[@timthompsondp]

I would definitely donate to a go-fund-me for her Tamale Truck - since driving 14 hours to buy some tamales from a Home Depot parking lot is more expensive.

[@DudsDungeon]

same

[@kleethepimp]

Same. I’d love to drive 16 hours to her but that’s not feasible. I still got $20 on that truck tho.

[@FillTheWoodb]

Set it up for her @J. Kenji Lopez-Main

[@jasonkeith2832]

While it isn't a perfect 1 to 1, the next best way to contribute to this kind of thing is to look in your own community for people doing this exact kind of thing and supporting them. It may not be supporting this one independent small business, but supporting locals means that the potential for more, closer than several hours' drives, similar businesses of people just as dedicated to the craft.

[@adversaryrs6076]

Go support a local business in your own community

[@thomasparker91]

You should have her on as a guest! She can show you/us how to cook, and if there is ad renvenue for those videos it could help fund her business.

[@DudsDungeon]

this

[@dereknaegle4602]

Wishing her the best as she expands her business! Looks like she has a lot of value to provide the world. Jealous I'm not there for my lunch today!

[@daniellavery6667]

When I go to this home depot I usually get tacos from the El Camion truck that is in the parking lot (they serve good mole, too.) I did not know about Joanna and her van at the same Home Depot.

[@mikemeskel]

One time there was a man randomly walking past my house with a cart ringing a bell and yelling “tamales!” It was like the ice cream truck, but it was some dude selling homemade tamales. It was awesome. And delicious. I yearn for a future that has people selling tacos and tamales up and down the street. Or people like Joanna selling delicious food out of the back of their van at every Home Depot parking lot.

[@spendincheese6952]

I respect it. thanks for shouting out good someone who deserves it.

[@CallMeRandomVG]

Oh my those are presented wonderfully. Reminds me of this one tamale lady in Chicago. She upgraded from a little table to a portable shack in the parking lot of a Cermak grocery store. It's not the BIGGEST upgrade, but it's nice to know she is making progress. Hoping the best frim the. And this van tamale business 👌

[@phug0id]

hopefully she can get a truck or brick & mortar soon! Evelia's Tamales in NYC went from sidewalk vending to now having a full fledged restaurant! It's beautiful to see! Quite a few articles and KZbin videos on Evelia and her tamales, if you are interested.

[@Dexterity_Jones]

Thank you for being a positive force in the world mate.

[@Goose683]

Gotta love when small businesses grow

[@corythompson7912]

Next time I’m in Seattle I’m hitting up that Home Depot. Keep it up JoAnna, I’m inspired. Thanks Kenji for bringing recognition to local cooks!

[@SecretCollage]

Thank you Kenji for showing us her menus!!

[@flammmenspeeryt9184]

You are such a nice person! I strive to be like you 😊

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

6 for for $15! What a deal! I'm so happy to see you supporting local business. I wish I was close enough to support her. Hope she explodes from this!

[@claudiojaramillo5177]

Wonderful Kenji, thanks a lot for sharing.

[@bdellovibrioo5242]

This brings me back to when I lived just blocks away from there. Love this series.

[@kimberlya.3681]

she can now stay open longer and offer more menu items. you are so awesome JKLA!!!!

[@fabiolean]

Looks delicious! I’ve said for years the true secret of a top tier taco is a fresh made tortilla.

[@arthurford829]

Well done Kenji! Helping others is where it’s at!

[@kaymrenee]

All of her offerings look so delicious! I wish i lived in the area to get something from her!

[@oliversmall]

Congrats Joanna!

[@emeliaheck1620]

Thank you for shining a spotlight on her! I stopped by today and picked up tamales, rolled tacos, and birria tacos for myself and some friends! I’ll be going back again!

[@bitexualthespian]

Love you shining a spotlight on her!!

[@Basomic]

Sending this to my sister in Seattle. Thanks Kenji and Joanna!

[@TheMattsterling]

Love it...makes me want to road trip up there!

[@BrandonGoad]

This is cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@hallramirez6829]

Doin it, keep doin it, you're doin it, you're the best. I trust your opinion. Thanks for what you're doing

[@aliciamazingg]

Thanks for sharing!!! I can’t wait to try 😄

[@jakegarcia1796]

This is so awesome you highlighting her business, Kenji! There’s a pretty big Tamale chain in the Texas Rio Grande Valley that was originally started by a lady, selling tamales out of her car, going door to door. Now they have 5+ locations! So good luck to Ms. Joanna and may her business be super successful!

[@patricklinkous]

I love that her business increased from your post! 😊

[@kvcooks814]

This is great- next time i'm up that way to visit my dad I'll stop by HD and look for Joanna. We love back of the van/shopping cart Mexican food and would love to support her!!

[@christopherkarr1872]

Joana is a local treasure. I wish I had that sort of tenacity and go-getter attitude. Truth be told, nonas who make their own tortillas are the absolute best cooks. I've spent my life learning many different cuisines, but they have perfected their own.

[@fujoshiiiii]

aw hell yeah, joana's food looks incredible! i really hope she's able to achieve her dream of a food truck.

[@xoch1717]

I hope her dreams come true! the food looks amazing and it was made with love

[@willfosterphoto]

oh, this is up by my house! I had no idea that she was doing this. Amazing!

[@findmeinthefuture.]

I legitimately wonder what makes parking lot tamales so often the gold standard. Seems like it's nearly universal across the US that there'll be a random back-of-the-van operation selling the best tamales in town

[@jasonkeith2832]

Probably the fact that the people making them are using authentic family recipes the same way they would make them for their family, just at a larger scale. That and the fact that slow-cooked beef cooked with spices and chilis packed in steamed corn dough is an amazing food.

[@dAfoodie101]

man, if I was in the area, I’d be there in the blink of an eye! I hope her business continues to grow!

[@Paul_Me_Once]

Please keep us updated, can't wait for your next video where you show us her food truck.

[@nikolaiivanovich2094]

Love this. More of this content is definitely welcome (and I don't even live in the States).

[@FirstRoundBye]

Wow would love to see her build up the business to eventually a food truck or storefront.

[@killerdrgn]

Referred her to the local Latino focused small business center to get her set up.

[@barbrafite9876]

You make me wish I lived in Seattle, it all looks great❤

[@ErasMcras]

Shouting out a local bussiness. Food is hard to get into but ppl deserve to eat great food

[@sheikneedles9250]

If not get yourself a leaf blower and bag of chips 😂😂

[@spencerfeathers1105]

I thought for sure this would be an El Camion video based on the location haha. Tamales look great though!

[@lemons_s]

oh goodness, those flautas look incredible!

[@bootsmith8016]

Yes! Trunk tamales are the best!

[@Sonny1065LV]

Back of the car parking lot tamales are the best! I'm at HV for work so I'm definitely going there for lunch today 😋

[@marcochavez7213]

Love what you are doing Kenji ! As a Seattle and Washington local for 25 years I agree and approve that trunk tamales are superior

[@KAR1492]

I'm on the other side of the country so I'll like never taste Joanna's food, but this is awesome. Sometimes the people making the best product don't have the means to distribute it in a traditional way, and I love seeing someone who clearly makes something worthwhile hopefully on track to make it a viable way to make a living

[@sanjaya718]

Wow! Makes me super hungry!

[@sevenandthelittlestmew]

I always loved when we had a woman and her husband selling tamales by the 1/2 dozen at my salon. I’d buy them every other week. Sadly, we stopped seeing them when the salon reopened after the pandemic. Since all the shops around were closed, they had no business in the area, and they haven’t been in our area since. I am hoping all the best for Joanna, and I hope she can get her taco truck up and running soon!

[@chaunceymattei5049]

I know Kenji would never refer to himself as an “influencer” but THIS is how you use your social capital in a meaningful way! Also, as someone who grew up surrounded by Mexicans and eating Mexican cuisine, those tamales look amazing! 🫔

[@miraclebub]

Funny! We usually hit the El Camion when we go there!

[@sameoldsteph]

Whoa! looks amazing! (And I'm in southern California.)

[@brodiator]

this was charming

[@Chiefmasamune]

I thought this was going to be a food truck that Kenji is approximately 50 feet away from. Glad to learn there's another reason to hang out in this parking lot!

[@gregorygriffin7803]

she can call her food truck "back of the van tamales"

[@mdharrisuiuc]

If you're ever over on the East side of the state, Los 3 Ponchos in Toppenish has some of the best Mexican food I've ever had, and for years I have been trying to recreate the pollo al carbon from there. Tortillas made fresh when you order, salsas all made in house, and they've got a sweet wood burning stove inside for the winter time. I loved that place when I lived in WA, and whenever I go back to visit I detour to Toppenish for it.

[@darold1966]

Thanks for the tip! I'm on it. :)

[@mscott976]

I’m a big fan of tamales. I used to live in Flagstaff and would make runs over to the Navaho reservation to get tamales sold out of the back of pickup trucks. I especially liked the mutton ones. I hope Joanna does well with her business.

[@MrShotgunWaffles]

As someone who lives in Vancouver WA... I really gotta visit Seattle lol.

[@ryanz4772]

That looks killer

[@flaminggorilla909]

Hahaha. My friend used to have a neighbor who would make tamales and sell them on his front porch starting at 4am. We would party at my buddys place all night and when just a few of us were left in the early early morning we would get the best tamales on the planet. The best tamales come from the most random places!!!!!

[@jomjohns]

Apparently Kenji lives near where I used to in Seattle lol. I used to go to that spot all the time when I lived in Lake City. Amazing food in the weirdest location!

[@blahdblah0007]

Where (and when) I grew up there was often a lady or two selling tamales and tortillas outside the grocery store to make ends meet. Almost always better than the store made ones, not to mention any horrible national brands. Seems less common now, maybe for good reasons, definitely because of more dedicated businesses. But I do miss it when I go back.

[@jmason61]

Okay everyone.... what about the taco shop close by that has great food too? They pay overhead not just trunk food

[@beyondtheads]

oh my god I'm visiting later this week

[@georgewalford7027]

I hope she can save up and get a truck!

[@Rhaspun]

Her taquitos look tasty.

[@erat91]

I've eaten tacos all over this dang country and i swear the best ones are always in the most unexpected places.

[@plainwlkr8]

Best mexican food is from a cart with a flat top or tamales that come out of a cooler

[@racecare989]

okay i need to get tamales for lunch

[@Li1t]

I live in the UK. We don't get back-of-the-van tamales here. I'm jealous!

[@daythyme]

the best tamales i've ever had were from a kind man who sold them out of his trunk in the Albertsons parking lot by my house

[@trishblakely3476]

Brb, booking a flight to Seattle.

[@timbrock3377]

I grew up in a small, Michigan town; Vermontville. 950 people. Zero cultural diversity. 30 years ago my job forced me to move to Detroit. In a very poor part of Detroit I saw a woman selling tamales out of the back of a pickup. She had a half dozen Coleman coolers. I grabbed a bag of 6 tamales. I'd never had a tamale before. And I was hooked! I would detour by after getting out of work in the morning, and if I was lucky there were still a few tamales left at 8AM. Beef, pork, and chicken. 30 years later, living next door to Mexican Town in Detroit, and those tamales from a truck are STILL the best I've ever had!

[@Luke.Cooking]

I remember as a kid 40 yo we’d buy fruit from a truck or from an amigo at a freeway off ramp.

[@imstillmata3675]

❤️❤️❤️

[@mrichardmoore]

That’s Seattle for ya

[@genjii931]

Happens all over.

[@mrichardmoore]

@@genjii931 I guess we’re spoiled out here in California/Mexico, where each grandma in the neighborhood makes tamales at home that are better than the last! 😋

[@gyrosmann]

Hi Kenji, I hope you read this, because I think you might find this interesting if you don’t know it already. There is a basque recipe called cod Al pil pil, where you are effectively making kind of a mayonnaise sauce from the cod drippings and olive oil. So, these days, according to KZbin videos, people seem to use a strainer to stir directly in the pan and develop the sauce that way. I wondered, if this was also possible with other sauces that sometimes tend to separate like ragu Al carne/ bolognese. I tried it and it kinda seems to work, but I’m not sure yet. Maybe something to try in a food lab? I tried finding other recipes that use a strainer that way but I wasn’t successful. Anyways. Thanks for your videos! They always are an inspiration to try out new stuff!

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

Animal fats are hard to make mayonnaise with because they solidify at room temp and break the emulsion. I wrote an article about this on Serious Eats in 2009.

[@gyrosmann]

@@JKenjiLopezMain thanks. I will look for that. Pil Pil is more like a creamy sauce.

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

I know Pil pil! Fish fat is liquid at room temp. It’s when you get into larger animals like pig and cow that it becomes difficult to properly emulsify.

[@pushslice]

I lost touch w/ your YT stuff and had not realized you moved from Norcal (where I am now), to my hometown. Hope you are enjoying the PNW! On-topic, I do enjoy the parking lot treats in & around the East Bay. tamales-oaxaquen~os Astrovans are usually my favorite, but I also like Fresh-seafood campechana Tahoes, esp on warm days! Back off-topic, if you or your wife know of any Empanadas de Pipian vendors in Norcal....pls advise. I am counting the months till my next Colombia trip...but getting my fix again soon would be better!

[@pistol80]

I guess I'm having tamales for lunch tomorrow.

[@DudsDungeon]

i want that so bad rn

[@Luke.Cooking]

What brand of leaf blower did u end up with?

[@EvanBurnetteMusic]

El Camion food truck is just north of that parking lot too right?

[@wyattgrodzins5214]

And after i move to the east side

[@alexc4797]

Where does she usually park in the lot?

[@arjunrsrivatsa]

I really hope she doesn't get shut down with all this attention! If she does I'll be the first to donate to her taco truck fund.

[@dustyoldhat]

6 for $15?? Dang in our Home Depot lot we can get a dozen for $20. Texas so Slightly smaller than west coast style but still it’s a good ass deal

[@killerdrgn]

Yeah these were pretty huge.

[@lordlemmingman]

I'm wondering if she's made some progress on getting that food cart at this point. I hope you update us if she ever does! (Also it's taken me this long to realize the joke in the name of this channel lol)

[@CommunityTheatre]

Instructions unclear, came home with a leaf blower and 30 piece socket set.

[@vjmtz]

I'd suggest anyone who sees her.. bring cash. While she has a tap to pay card reader... this comes at a significant cost to her per transaction fee. Straight up cash will give her all the money without that nonsense. She deserves the money more than being charged from a bank allowing her to give her money to them with extra fees.

[@thegsprank]

Come to the parking lot of the Home Depot on Aurora if you want an ass kicking [for your taste buds]

[@OoCOLDasICEoO]

I always wanna try these type of street vendors but my wife always convinces me that ima get sick.

[@genjii931]

I've never gotten sick from eating at one of these, but I have had some of the best food of my life from some of them. You don't have to tell the wife. Live your life.

[@OoCOLDasICEoO]

@@genjii931 I will! Thanks!

[@royfck6245]

2:33 *CUT* *CUT* 🤫

[@headerahelix]

Wish real Mexican food was more available across Europe.

[@dustyoldhat]

I wish real provincial French or Tuscan cooking, Spanish Tapas, Belgian chocolate, etc etc etc ….was more available in the US.

[@octopede]

Kenji you now look like a vegan.

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

I don’t know what this means, especially on a video full of meat.