WYOMING, Mich. -- You've seen them on the menu at your favorite Mexican restaurant: tamales. Perhaps you've had chicken or pork, but there's one shop in the metro area serving up 15 different kinds.
Tamales Mary has been open in Wyoming for a little over a year now, and the community is loving the tamales made from an old family recipe.
Just south of Grand Rapids you'll find authentic south of the border flavors. And lots of them.
"We have 15 different kinds of tamales, that's what makes our menu special because no one else has that here in the city," said owner Mary Delaluz-Martinez.
Tamales Mary: The process of making a tamale
And on Wednesdays you can try them all with their tamale lunch and dinner buffet.
"I have chicken, red and green—the green are the spicy ones and the red is not spicy—beef, pork, bell peppers with cheese, black beans with fresco cheese..."
And the list goes on. There are even dessert flavors. "We have pineapple, strawberry, sweet corn, chocolate on special occasions," said Mary.
"I think it's a great idea for people who love tamales, to come and try all they want," she said.
Mary's recipe is part of her family's legacy. "My mom has been making tamales for 45 years...all of my family makes tamales. It's my heritage."
You'll taste the hours of work to prepare these tamales. Diners say they're some of the best.
"It's really good, really good. I had the chicken and the pork one. And they are fantastic," said one first time visitor.
"I love that it's fresh, it's homemade, it's local. Everybody is friendly and wonderful and my kids eat it so that helps," said a local mom who stops in often.
While some are lucky enough to live close by, others say the drive is worth it. "There are not a lot of Mexican food buffets, so I'll definitely be coming back from Kalamazoo for this," said another first time diner.
Tamales Mary is just west of US-131 on Burton Street, and it opens every day at 11 a.m. In addition to the tamales lunch and dinner buffet on Wednesdays, they feature different buffet offerings on other days of the week.
The restaurant also offers an incredible lunch deal: two tamales, rice and beans for less than $5.
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