Gloria's Tamales

I don't know if it's the same person, but thanks for the heads up. She gave me her salsa recipe one day while we stood in line at Kroger. Nice lady.

willing to part with that recipe?

Still dont know if it's the same gang, but if you google "Gloria's tamales, toledo", the usual google map comes up, and there are 3 reviews, all giving it 5 stars - add these with the two former coworkers of mine who also say it's good that makes for 5 positive reports.

Remember this is not what I'd call a restaurant, but more of the 'taco stand' type of place you find a lot of out in California.

I might have to try it tonight!

I have no idea what it is anymore. She rattled it off as if I had a photographic memory.

I may just try that place myself tonight.

I have bought tamales 3 or 4 times from there, they were great all but one time, the tamales were dried out but i was there at closing that time.

where exactly is this place? looks one google maps, and the photo seems to show the address as an empty lot. I really want to check it out!

It's in the Northeast Corner at the intersection of Lewis and Laskey. Across from the Shed, same parking lot as some beauty school.

It's really a tiny stand.

Just went. Holy crap the pork tamales are good. So is the salsa. Wowza

LOL! I love how fast you act on stuff.

So do you just go and order and its ready in a few? Or did you call?

http://enjoyingtoledo.com/2010/03/glorias-tamales/

it's walk up & drive through, no dining in but they do have tables outside. we ordered at the window, and waited in our car until it was ready. :) took like 5 minutes

Awesome review. It is considered west Toledo though. Just sayin' bro.
Must stop there this weekend.

NOTED! we're updating now... anything outside of downtown or the old west end and I get confused. ;)

Any chance that you grabbed a to-go menu and can scan it? Their Facebook page is pretty weak.

ah no we didn't ... they didn't have menus to go, just xeroxed typed out sheets taped to the building and counter... but it's super basic
4 meat options (pork, shredded chicken, taco beef and shredded beef) and then a bunch of things you can put them in

prices are pretty cheap. tamales are 1.75 a pop but a good size. burritos are $4 and giant.

they have tacos and all of the other regulars.

Thanks dude. Def hitting it this weekend. Can't believe I drive by there all the time and never noticed.

make sure you get extra salsa :)

Sounds too good to pass up.

gonna try it, I love this board for this kind of stuff, you guys rock, and I'm sure Gloria thinks so, too. wonder if she'll wonder where the increased bidnez came from? lol

Are these the "authentic" type of tamales wrapped in corn husk?
How big are they?
I love tamales, when I was still working a friend of mine (who is Hispanic) would take orders on Tuesday and deliver on Wednesday. They were great, you'd get a dozen for $8.
Damn I miss those things.

yeah, they are authentic! bigger than you typically find, but not huge. well worth the $1.75

I think they make them in the morning, so the later in the day you order the longer they've been held in the steamer. hence the chicken one was on the dry side.

Argh - the wife went and had mexican for lunch, so doesnt want it for dinner...

Guess I'll have to wait till lunchtime on Saturday!

LOL! I purposely ate nothing with cheese for lunch in anticipation that I can make it there tonight.

Food – it will get ya!

You couldda cheesed it up! Tamales no con queso!

Not much of a tamale person, but was going to try one pork one per upso. I am more of a enchilada and taco person.

Okay - now I know why I have not been a tamale person. Cause I didnt have one from there. Got a pork and a beef and both are quite tasty. I should have listened to upsos wife because I also got a burrito and it is HUGE. When they took out the tortilla it looked like a large pizza crust, lol. Fun kids working there - everyone should try it. And that pico!

Also - Billy I asked if it was the same Gloria as point place and they said no. The girl said that Gloria was selling tamales at bars and it took off from there.

Just had the rest of the bean burrito for breakfast. urp

Good stuff Maynard.

Tried it for lunch. I ordered:

beef burrito
soft chicken taco
pork tamale
chicken tamale
beef tamale
pico de gallo

My opinion is that, while not that authentic, the food was the best mexican I've had in Toledo. The beef burrito clearly was the best. Slightly salty but very tasty. The pico was very good and really makes the burrito complete.

For the tamales I'd stay away from the chicken. Dry, kinda nasty. Pork was fine. Beef was good.

Finally, the soft chicken taco was a fine. Probably the healthiest choice. No salads on the menu.

So for me the beef options are the treats. Now I need to go for a run to burn this off.

LOL - Thanks for the report bobo! My, that sounds like the hungry-man lunch special!!

I live in MD and, when visiting relatives in Toledo,buy a dozen pork tamales from Gloria's for $12 to bring home. They are the best! Just happened to see this site when looking for a menu for Gloria's.

welcome, Jane, whats the food like in your part of the world?

Was nearby getting my hairdid so I picked up some more grub. How do you beat 2 nice sized soft tacos for 2 bucks? That was the special for today!

ha

Went about 6:30, today was 'build your own burrito for $5' day so I did and it was huge. I brought it home and shared 3/4 with my grown son and it was enuff for both of us. course, I ate 2 pork tamales before my 1/4, lol (they were out of beef). great flavor, kinda plain and kinda spicy at the same time. forgot to ask for pico, dangit! grandkids got deluxe tacos and fajitas and they liked them, but the fajita kid wished he'd ordered steak tacos instead, too many peppers for his taste and he wanted lettuce (gringo lol). overall, a good experience, I will go back.

glad you had a good experience! :)

We went for lunch Saturday. I had an enormous burrito, very tasty. I tried the tamales (pork, beef, chicken) and I didn't finish the chicken, since it was kind of hard (12 noon order; not late in day). Spouse thought the chicken tamale was just OK.

The pork tamale was not good; not only was it hard, but when I opened it up to see what the problem was, it was full of what looked like industrially-processed meat paste. Since I saw one of the adorable young helpers unloading tamales from a big plastic bag into the steamer, I concluded that maybe the tamales come in a big 20-pound bag from a Mexican food factory (San Marcos grocery has them; they come from Chicago, I believe).

But we'll stop in again and try other items.

Oh I don't know about that, I hope not anyway. If they have them on hand frozen why would they be out of the beef on Saturday?

bummer you had a bad experience viola
i'm pretty sure they make their own tamales because the filling in each one (chicken, pork & beef) is the exact same filling they use in everything else (tacos, burritos etc)

in general it seems like tamales can really be hit or miss, depending on when they were made and how long they've been cooked. i suspect they make a big bunch every month or week, and just freeze them and reheat as needed. not the most elegant solution but it makes sense.

viola, go back and try them again, I got great pork ones first time! nicely shredded meat, soft and hot and very tasty.

Nana, I think we might have been right behind you when you ordered. We went around 6:30 on Saturday as well. I had the wild 3 year-old that was running around being crazy!

Anyways, I tried Gloria's for the first time on Saturday. I was always curious about the place since we live 2 streets away. I had the shredded chicken buritto, and cheese nachos. I also asked for salsa, and no onions on my buritto. I got the salsa and the onions on my buritto. I'm ok with a mixup. The buritto was HUGE, and very delicious. The nachos were just plain, nothing spectacular. We also got a side of shredded beef in a cup, maybe for the nachos? Well, the beef was very good as well. I will definetly have to go back for the tamales!

Draven4099....2 streets north, or 2 streets south? I'm right nearby also. Hell you may live down the street from me.

On Southover.

Heh, small world, I'm on Olson.

Hit it again today. There must be crack in that stuff.

going back for lunch tomorrow

draven, hiya, I wondered if you were one of us, lol, but asking would have been too wierd, lol. yer little boy is very cute and he talks so clear!! you were great to let him run a little bit, he wasn't hurting anything and it made him happy. good papa! here's another small world item, I lived for 5 years on Waybridge about midway between Lewis and Bennett, cant remember the side street, but it looks like a barn from the front, second from the corner. I remember the neighborhood as seeming so big but when I go back thru it now, it's tiny!!!

Nana, I believe I am friends with the couple that bought that house!! Does it sit on a double lot, with an inground pool and a bathroom in the garage?

nope, draven, its a tiny house on a tiny lot, with huge trees and a screenhouse in back that was converted into a garage that you cant get a car into, lol. my nephew bought the house next door a couple years ago with no knowledge of its history.

Ok, wrong house! I think I know what house you are talking about though.

Has anybody that has gone truid the green hot sauce?

There outta be a waiver you have to sign before consuming that stuff.

Way too hot for me, but my bean burrito was good, as usual.

All right - I am now convinced and I will try the place. Gloria's must be packed with TT posters these days.

OK, all this tamale talk forced me to venture. I ordered a shredded chicken burrito that must have weighed over a pound (it was only $4.00). I was so stuffed that I will have to save the tamales for dinner.

Great food and you will not walk away hungry.

ryan yeah the green sauce is crazy hot. i love it

The pork tamales are awesome - they have a sneaky heat to them that takes a bit to accumulate. One minute you are munching away, and the next thing you know your eyes begin to water a little bit. Unless that was an emotional reaction to the news that the Blade published PDF images of Jeff Simpson's notebook.

Nah, it was the tamales.

Good lord HM. Toledo bullshit politics has to seep into a taco thread?

Ha - I just picked the first nonsense news piece I could find.

Anyone post the daily specials? Can remember 50 cent tacos on Sunday.

Saturday is build your own burrito. Do they take credit cards? Im drooling on my keyboard right now thinking about it. Darn these 12 hour days I have to work!

I think Friday is 2 soft tacos for $2. And Thursdays are 1.25 tamales. I should now these by heart since I have been there quite a bit now. Either way, the prices are so reasonable it does not matter if there is a special. My fave thing has been the bean and cheese burrito w/ onions for 2.50. HUGE!

Yes they take credit cards. I took the menus they have to hand out with the intent of scanning it and posting it here, but I think it got tossed with the detrius of the last meal we had there. Or I ate it, one of the two...

YES!! I'm so glad they take credit cards. I did take one of their menus and kept it at home. I want a burrito now. I have yet to try their tamales...

DINNER! lol!

This week I'm working 11 am to 11 pm, so I can't get to them this week. BOOO!!

Damn this thread... *salivates

My wife and I took home some Gloria's grub at about 8:30 p.m. last night. We both got taco supreme meals and one pork tamale each. It was all good, but we both decided to focus on the delicious tamales next time.

hi,I,m gloria the one that owns gloria,s tamales.I thank my customers for keepping the business open,all winter. and also to let them know and for the new customer that we do make the tamales everyday,and that we do go thru--anywhere between 300-500# of meats a week,and don,t have time to freeze them nor do we get them from anywhere else. thank u again gloria

WOW!! 500lbs of tamale meat!! That'sa lotta tamales!!!

Ok, now I gotta go.... Thanks for the info Gloria.

gloria! welcome to the board. :)

hey, thanks i like that

Hi, Gloria!! just wanted to mention that I brung The Hub for lunch Saturday and made another convert to your huge burrito...he couldn't finish it, but he's gonna hold the rice next time, lol!! he sampled my beef tamales and liked them, tho I think I'm going back to the pork. PLEASE don't ever change what you are doing, they are awesome!

not planning on changing nothing.except the hours longer days;;;;;;;;;;

Absolutely love the place and am telling everyone willing to listen...

I have been spreading the word too Gloria.

Last time we went for Mexican and got bad food we decided next time we would pick up food from your place and make our own drinks!

Do you think you will ever carry an enchilada or wet burrito? I am all about sauce.

if you r gonna make enchilada the old fashion way,no i can,t do it the building is all about eletric and no gas,so that means no hood for the grease/sorry. as far as a wet burrito i,ll see what i do by the way 2morrow is tamales special mix or match at $10.oo a doz.friday deal

My family and I walked there on Wednesday night, cause neither of us wanted to cook. We ordered the pork tamales, 2 soft tacos for $2, and a chicken quesedilla. Everything was excellent, especially the tamales!

O M G!!! 12 Tamales for $10?? what a deal!!

dang, I may have to swing over from the East Side for that! but The Hub and I are alone tonight, how can I reheat the ones we don't eat? never brought them home before. thx!

Maybe throw them in a steamer for a few minutes? I have a veggie one, but sometimes I throw stuff in a colander that hangs at the top of a pot and do it that way.

y think thats a deal u should try our burritos,its build you,re own whatever you want on it for $5.00 and beleive me they are big u could feed maybe three people depending who on that shift.

oh, by the way i,m not that gloria in the point

My boyfriend is up there as I type this, bringing us home dinner. I've been telling him how much you all have been raving about this place, so we're both psyched to finally get to try it!

So? What'd you think?

Oh my gosh... I'm sitting here thinking about pork tamales and how much I wish I had some right now!! It was fantastic!!

I swear there must be crack in the tamales, picked up the tamale family meal and a few tacos tonight. the beans are the best i have had so far in toledo,

I swear there must be crack in the tamales, picked up the tamale family meal and a few tacos tonight. the beans are the best i have had so far in toledo,

The family and I went there for Cinco de Mayo, and it was packed! The wife and I spent $8, and we each had 2 BIG soft tacos, an empanada (I think), and nachos. They were all amazing, and for only $8! There was also a local race car in the parking lot sponsored by Glorias, which my son and I looked at. Love this place!

hope it becomes as popular as the tamale stands you find in california.

I love how many people have tried it because of this thread. I wonder if she has noticed an upswing in daily receipts.

I stopped on the way home from work on Cinco de Mayo also. LOVED the tamales! Bought 3 chicken tacos for the husband - only 2 made it home. I could not resist the smell!

& Ryan! I made my very one Flaming pot (tangos) that night too. I think I hit the nail on the head!

It was a pretty yummy Cinco de Mayo dinner for staying home!

Thats what we did too! We had Glorias ($8), and a big thing of Jose Cuervo Margaritas ($16), and we stayed home and made our own Margaritas!

draven - we might have been there the same time. The race car was there when I was also.

Crazy idea. The Zoo-To-do has restaurants come in and donate their food for a great event. If you have never gone it's a blast. I worked/volunteered for the first six. Someone like Gloria's can't afford to donate that much food, I am sure. How about Toledo Talk pooling their $$$ together to help them? My business will donate. How cool would it be to take a small local and promote it?

Who is game?

"Sponsored by Toledo Talk".

I finally tried a couple of the pork tamales...they were to DIE for!!

when is it and what is it, molsonator? I could throw some cash in.

SJD, We were there, and I was the one with the 3 year old looking at and walking around the race car. He is super big into race cars and the Pixar movie "Cars". I thought it was super cool that the car had a Glorias sponsor logo on it!!

I'm in Molson.

I was worried about the "fine dining" aspect...but then I saw there was going to be Hooters and Big Boy restaurant! So...why not Glorias!?

It might be too late. They already have the businesses supplying food listed.

Speaking of race cars - isnt there a huge parking lot around behind Glorias? Car show?

That would be sweet! My son would love that! There is a huge parking lot, its next to a bar, and next to two major roads! PERFECT! They should hire me, or us, to be their Public Affairs person.

Nice write up in the Free Press Star. They even mention little ole ToledoTalk.

Do they have the write up online? Do you have the link? I tried finding it but couldnt. I will have to search for the Star!

Oh crap. Gloria put pictures of her food up on her Facebook page. Now I want some tamales, but Im stuck at work!

here is her facebook page for the curious: http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Toledo-OH/Glorias-Tamales/278766851566

Scratch Gloria's off the list

http://www.toledonewsnow.com/story/19515303/restaurant-ratings-flies-on-the-premises-of-eateries

I'm afraid she never made it on to my list. Anytime I drove by with the thought of getting something, the overall unappealing look of the place made me think otherwise. Glad I trusted my instincts.

... such a shame

icky icky icky icky icky icky icky icky icky icky icky icky

The ants go marching one by one hurrah hurrah...

Ack. Bummer, too. The tamales were pretty good, though we picked some up at the Farmer's Market a few years ago that were even better, but we have no idea who made them. Cream Cheese tamales were amazing!

I like mine without flies and rodents though.

Certain things like coolers or food being 2-3 degrees off, I sort of overlook, temperature control is not perfect and I'm pretty sure most places don't have super fantastic ultra-accurate thermometers and thermostats.

Raw meat above other stuff, no. Pretty sure monkeys can be trained to how food is supposed to be stored in the cooler.

Plumbing problems/soap and sanitizer issues are inexcusable unless it manage to just break in the last 24 hours... and I don't get how you can fail to have soap/sanitizer on hand unless you really fail at inventory/stock, it's not like it has an expiration date!

There is no excuse whatsoever for pests, you should have the Orkin man out there ASAP.

Two of my top Mexican finds a few years ago… Gloria’s and San Marco’s. I really enjoyed the tamale’s from Gloria’s quite a bit initially and considering that most of the tamale’s I had purchased in the past were home made by individuals I considered Gloria’s a safe choice being that they were under the eyes of the inspectors despite the buildings dilapidated façade – in fact on visual inspection I always considered the prep area pretty clean to the naked eye. Gloria’s just kind of went downhill for me a year or so ago though. I had problems getting the tamale’s I enjoyed and even would call ahead making sure they had them and reserve them so I didn’t drive out there and leave empty handed. Even after reserving them I still would show up and they were gone. I’ve worked with customers in the past and usually when I did something like that I would apologize and make things right for the customer but they were almost unconcerned (and I wasn’t looking for freebies). I’ve cut way back on Gloria’s and am looking for a good tamale resource – any suggestions would be great.

San Marco’s has been the second disappointment. After trumpeting frequently on this forum on their behalf they seem to keep backsliding. The first 50 times I went there (yeah… 50….) I had one disappointing experience. Now it’s every other. Either cold food, grizzly cold steak, unclean bathrooms or even flies and bugs in the display cases. So sadly… we rarely go to San Marco’s anymore. Having just lost two Mexican favorites I am really looking forward to the grand re-opening of the newly remodeled El Tipico’s on South Street. The family has really invested a lot of time and money in their restaurant which they have operated since 1968 in Toledo. They do not serve liquor so rely purely on the reputation of their food. They reopen I think September 21st. You can find out their progress and what they have done by finding and liking them on Facebook. It is neat to see such a personal restaurant with many loyal customers. Those small family run restaurants seem to be a dwindling commodity in our community.

Danneskjold, I really liked the tamales at La Cachanilla. Another great family-run restaurant I think you'd enjoy. I posted a review a couple weeks ago. http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/125566/La_Cachanilla_Tamaleria_and_Restaurant

Thanks kaj. Will definitely give La Cachanilla a try, maybe even tomorrow perhaps.

Had some of Gloria's tamales last night. MmmmMMmm manna from heaven.

Danneskjold: I'm with you on San Marcos. First few times were great then the decline began. Then the health dept. inspections.

Now my purchases there are limited to produce (great lemons at a great price BTW), canned goods, some dairy items and, now and then, some of the table sauce - though I buy the latter with much trepidation.

Having read about Gloria's for the first time when Molson updated the post, I started from the top and by the time I got to Molson's post, I was craving mexican food. The fly thing turned me off though, and then I thought, maybe NOW would be time to try it as I would think they would have "attacked" the problem. So I did. The family loved it. Went back for the 2nd time this past Friday, and found out that this will be their last week (I think 9/28 is the last day). Hubby spoke with the workers inside and they told him they are trying to find another place but can't get a loan....

Well... my quest for a secondary tamale source will have to be prioritized. Just stopped by Gloria's today for a dozen beef dainties and the building has been gutted. I looked for a sign on the building or windows that might have given some clues as to whether they were closed permanently or re-locating and there was no information whatsoever. Toledo Talk contributors should demand that this city provide an exceptional tamale source! (ok... that goes against everything I think about Government but dammit... Good Tamales are a serious necessity!

Danneskjold-When we were they the week before they closed, they had signs up posting the phone number you could call and order "Holiday Tamales". It is 419 377-8199. They were hopeful that they would still find another building to operate out of....

I would think the ESM would be a good local for them.

What strikes me about tamales is that they are pretty labor intensive to make. Like many small businesses employing labor + having the overhead associated with a property (be it rental or owned) makes it very difficult to maintain profit above total cost. I think that is why so often the tamales I have enjoyed came from people who make them as a side occupation under the radar of being incorporated and taxed. Of course there are probably ways to mass produce them but the product is not as good.

Unless Gloria's found a situation where they were given an area virtually rent free (maybe a business would like a vendor like Gloria's who might attract customers to their location)... unless they were given a situation like that I can't see them in a stand alone facility and that is probably why it is pretty rare to see tamale places succeed despite their popularity as witnessed on this thread. My two cents....

Tamales are indeed labor intensive to make. I've made them a few times - they are great homemade but it's the better part of the day in the kitchen.

Ditto for stuffed grape leaves.