Tamales, love to eat them, pain in the arse to make them.

My favorite place in town to get a tamale remains the unlikely little Sutter Cafe (330 Sutter St.) in the Sutter Stockton garage across from the elevators. Nice and small, stuffed with chicken, green olives and chilies, they're made there by a Chinese woman who lived in Mexico.

But if you're looking to buy more than one or two, Mijita—at both locations—is taking orders now for their homemade tamales. I've never had them but by the looks of this photo above, they look mighty fine.

At the AT&T Park location, choose from:
Chicken and salsa verde
Pork and chile Colorado
Rajas (roasted sweet peppers with Oaxaca cheese)
Sweet tamale with golden raisins
Order 72 hours in advance; 415-644-0240

At the Ferry Building, choose from:
Chicken
Vegetarian
Order 48 hours in advance; 415-399-0814

$3 each or $32 for a dozen. All orders come with salsa.