Restaurants Stand Out on Mississippi’s Hot Tamale Trail
In partnership with: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
Scroll through USA Today’s list of the 10 best specialty food festivals in the U.S., and you’ll find the Delta Hot Tamale Festival sitting squarely at No. 1 in 2024. Held every October in Greenville, the hot tamale capital of the world, the event brings tamale lovers together to celebrate this unique food and its place in Mississippi’s Delta.
The region also happens to be home to the Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail, a 350-mile route documenting the tamale tradition in the state. With more than 50 stops along the trail, visitors can learn a lot about the history and culture of the tamale in the local region.
Tamales are made from tender meat, cornmeal and a variety of spices, wrapped in a corn husk and simmered in broth. There are multiple theories about where this beloved dish originated, but it is believed to be traced to Mexican agricultural workers who came to the U.S. for work. Modern hot tamales are a confluence of Mexican, African American and Southern influences.
See more: How One Mississippi Chef Makes Farmers the Star of the Show at Upscale Elvie’s Restaurant
Hot Tamale Heaven
Travel to Greenville to find Hot Tamale Heaven, a family-owned business and well-known stop along Mississippi’s famed trail.
“My family started the business when we were very young,” says Aaron Harmon, owner of Hot Tamale Heaven. “My father, Willie Harmon, was working a factory job, and my uncle told him he heard a man could make a good living with tamales, so he started perfecting his craft.”
When he came across a recipe he liked, the elder Harmon began making it his own.
“He took that and started adding some things and taking some out until he perfected the recipe we use today,” Harmon says.
When his recipe won the approval of his taste-testing wife and kids, he began selling tamales in the neighborhood. The rave reviews from neighbors encouraged him to expand his reach.
Harmon’s father began peddling his tamales in the old Stein Mart Square in town.
“We sold tamales on two-wheeled tamale carts,” Harmon says. “Eventually, he let his job go and made tamales his full-time thing.”
Tamale making became a family affair as the kids were promoted from taste-testers to the business’s first employees.
“We were young children, maybe 7 or 8 years old, when we started making tamales,” Harmon says.
Today, Hot Tamale Heaven runs two locations in Greenville. The restaurant has become a landmark and been awarded a prized spot on the Hot Tamale Trail, alongside other family-owned businesses in the Mississippi Delta.
Abe’s Bar-B-Q
Another stop along the trail is Abe’s Bar-B-Q at the intersection of Highways 49 and 61 in Clarksdale, known as “The Crossroads.”
“It’s where supposedly Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to learn how to play guitar or blues,” says manager Pat Davis, who is the grandson of the restaurant’s founder and namesake Abraham Davis. “We’re within a stone’s throw of the intersection Robert Johnson made famous.”
Abe’s celebrated its 100th birthday in May 2024.
“My grandfather was from Lebanon,” Davis explains. “I know he didn’t learn how to make tamales in Lebanon. I guess he got that from Mexican immigrants that were here back in the early ‘40s.”
History and culture are all wrapped up in a corn-husk-shrouded mystery.
“I don’t know how long the trail’s been traveled, but we do have a lot of people come through and tell us they’re on the Hot Tamale Trail. Then they go to the next town that has hot tamales and the next one and try them out,” Davis says. “The most exciting thing is getting to see people come through from out of the country, out of state and my day-to-day customers from Clarksdale.”
The most popular order on the Abe’s menu is the bundle of three hot tamales served with crackers and crunchy coleslaw.
Davis is proud of how his family establishment has contributed to the community.
“We’re sort of a lost art now that you have more chain restaurants and franchises,” Davis says. “We’re probably one of the only three or four in Clarksdale that are family-owned, and you want to see that grow.”
See more: Discover Mississippi’s Delta Region Products
Take a Bite Out of the Tamale Trail
Ready to dig into some fresh, hot tamales? On a trip through the Mississippi Delta, you’re sure to pass a small stand here and there, check out the full Mississippi Tamale Trail and find one near you.
- Abe’s Bar-B-Q, Clarksdale
- Airport Grocery, Cleveland
- Doe’s Eat Place, Greenville
- Ervin’s Hot Tamales, Sledge
- Ground Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale
- Hicks’ Famous Tamales, Clarksdale
- Hot Tamale Heaven, Greenville
- Scott’s Hot Tamales, Greenville
- The Original Solly’s Hot Tamales, Vicksburg
- White Front Cafe, Rosedale