Hot Tamale is a cheap, colorful cantina where solid cooking and a cheery dining room combine to make it one zesty little gem of a restaurant. The dreary old Souvlaki restaurant near Samson Hardware has completely transformed into a colorful warren of booths and tables tucked in and around stucco niches. Quality in any restaurant rests in the details. This spot has the details down. You cringe, if only briefly, as you dip them into the thick, cilantro-spiked salsa.
Meats are tender, cooked for hours on the stove.
New Mexicans, however, judge tacquieras by their chili sauce, and Hot Tamale's could use a little more fire. If you dine in, prepare for a huge bowl where generous chunks of meat float like half-submerged logs. Broths are zesty albeit a tad fatty, with the kitchen using chili powder to great advantage. Be forewarned when ordering menudo. Good, yes, but not what I was prepared for.