Aztec Treat on the IRT

Hop onto the subway at 96th street and Broadway, and you’ll witness the easy coexistence of 21st-century urban life and centuries-old Aztec tradition. A young man bops to the beat of his iPhone while plucking open a steaming cornhusk. Suddenly a whiff of hot corn masa issues from his perfectly formed tamale.

Tamales were invented by the Aztecs, and then the Spanish conquistadores spread the word. In NYC, we get ours via Mexican immigrants who set up impromptu tamale stands with nothing more than a wire grocery cart and a cooler. Read more