New Tex-Mex restaurant for Seymour, CT

[Scargo]

Recently we got out and sampled a new restaurant which just opened in Seymour, CT. http://hottamalect.com/ "Hot Tamale" is what I would best describe as "Tex-Mex, New England style". (Remember, my roots are in Texas and I used to eat, drink and sleep Mexican food.) They are in the first little strip center on 67 (or New Haven Road) just off Highway 8, if you head east. This is a very classy, well decorated restaurant. Not some worked over, tired interior of an old building, like The Twisted Vine, which I will mention in my next post. They spent some bucks on this interiorand it has a nice bar, too. I'm ashamed to say this but you just don't expect a place like this in Seymour or hardly in New Haven!

We went on opening night (10-11) and I was impressed by how smothly most things went. The row of tables where we sat were a little crowded. There were heavier-than-average weight people on both sides of us and I felt like I was in the pushed-forward front seat of a small car with a big person behind me; my knees at my chin; but in this case it was the table in my gut. They could do with removing one of the tables in that row.

But as to the food...

They served up a good margarita at the nice bar with four, large, widescreen TVs. They seemed to know what they were doing behind the bar. We barely had time to drink it before our table was ready. It took a few minutes of waiting for me to wrap up the bill at the bar. It would be convenient if they could have transferred the tab to our table... Do they not do that in Connecticut?

Once seated, we started with guacamole made fresh, at the table. The preparer added olive oil and vinegar, along with a lesser dash of lime juice which made the mix rather soupy and odd tasting. They should leave traditional guacamole alone and not be trying to do wierd stuff with it! It was OK, but I would not allow any funny stuff on the next go-round. The salsa was tasty but had no heat. They have a hotter chile sauce, you have to ask for, but it is very plain. Mixing this into the wimpy salsa helped. It could use some lime juice and jalapenos.

My partner had Chile Rellenos, which I consider a true test of a Mexican-oriented kitchen and I had a combination plate which included a twice-wrapped beef tamale (paper around a corn husk!) soft beef taco "ranchero" and chicken enchilada with tomatillo sauce. My "Combination Quatro" was good and flavorful, except for the taco. It was just ground beef and it was flavorless. The rice and beans were OK. The rice was a little bland. The chile rellenos were prepared properly, in the classic, thin batter style, but they were undercooked. The outside was beautiful, while the chile was hardly edible, it was so raw. This was not a bad experience for a brand-new restaurant, on opening night. We went back last night (Friday) and they asked if we had reservations! They were absolutely packed and had a two hour wait, so we went elsewhere.

We will return, eventually. I want to try the Chicken in Mole. Can you imagine; having to make reservations at a restaurant in Seymour?

Edited October 20, 2007 by Scargo (log)

[Scargo]

Now for the second installment:

On our second visit (again on a Friday night, at 7:30PM) I can report that we thought the food was OK, again. They do not skin their chile rellenos, which is a major fauxpas. The salsa was again, very wimpy. The flautas were decent, but too thick, so they did not get cooked enough in the middle. The "spiced" filling was very under-seasoned. My Pollo Mole (Chicken with Mole Sauce) was disappointng from the standpoint that many (if not most) recipes call for the chicken to be baked in, cooked in or heated in the Mole sauce. I got bland, boiled chicked breast chunks with a thin Mole poured over them. The mole was too thin; and then, like everything else, was not flavorful enough. To be fair, it had a decent flavor, but it was not concentrated enough; and for $14.00, it was way overpriced for what I received.

We made reservations, though I don't think we would have had to wait very long. Our service was lacking because there was a major disconnect between who was supposed to take our table. We waited for our waitress and then requested the hostess to find her for us. There were many waitresses and assistants buzzing around us but we were completely ignored. This all took at least fifteen minutes before we were greeted by our waitress. Getting drinks took quite a while too.

Still, all in all (if you are not too picky about the authenticity of the food) the quality of the food is very good and I would recommend trying it. I think it is one of the better restaurants in the area. They have other dishes on their menu that are not Mexican at all, but look very interesting, like "Seafood al Pesto Rosso", which they mispell on their menu to read "all Pesto Rosso"!

I grew up on Tex-Mex, New Mexico and Mexican food. I wish they would "kick it up" a notch with the seasonings and get a little more authentic. Guadalupe la Poblanita (in New Haven) it is NOT!

[Scargo]

This was our third time at Hot Tamale and they may have got the message about the chile rellenos. There was no skin on them and one of the two were fully cooked. The other one was close to being fully cooked and soft. The flautas were good and crispy this time. I like the rice and beans. They are the normal. plain variety that you would expect from Tex-Mex.

The salsa was (literally) cold and had no "heat", either. They do put bottles of hot sauces on the table so that you can heat it up.

Drinks we ordered were slow to arrive and we received chips and the cold salsa but went without water; had to ask and then water took a long time. So, service was kinda slow. The food arrived just as we received our drinks.

The food was pretty good this time, but service was slower than before and they were not super busy. Oh yea, and my "top shelf" margarita sucked!

Perhaps they will get it (all) together one day.

[Scargo]

This was our fourth, and final time at Hot Tamale. I do think you can do better in the frozen food and canned goods aisles of your local grocery.

The salsa was again cold and tasteless with a distinct canned tomato flavor. They do continue to put bottles of hot sauces on the table so that you can heat it up and the waitress volunteered to bring choppped, fresh jalapenos for it. They do have a hotter, cayenne-based, sauce (you have to ask for) but it is not "salsa".

I decided not to order the "top shelf" magarita this time since it was watery/tasteless the last time and this "ordinary" version fared no better.

I think they puree the pinto beans and they are not "refried". They were very bland. Bland everything! My partner's (to quote the menu) "Tostada Salad--A grande taco shell filled with grilled steak or chicken, on a bed of mixed greens. Served with pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. $11.99", had totally tasteless chicken. (BTW, my dog liked it.) My chile rellenos were terrible. Un-authentic, flavorless cheese filling. Our friends did not comment on their food and I was afraid to ask.

The appetizer, (again quoting) "Hot Tamale--Two corn masa tamales filled with beef and steamed in corn husks. Served over a bed of mesculin greens. $7.99", was quite good, but I doubt they make it in-house. The "Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake $6.00" was good but ditto on the made elsewhere.

I really wanted to enjoy a decent meal here but this last meal was the deal-breaker. The four of us dropped over $125 for pathetic ??-Mex! The mariachi band was a joke and just made it difficult for us to talk.

This place had a waiting list the last three times we visited, and yet, this Saturday night prime-time visit found the place about 1/3 empty. My friend said, "The restaurant was OK for the Valley". That's a terrible indictment.

[Scargo]

The appetizer, (again quoting) "Hot Tamale--Two corn masa tamales filled with beef and steamed in corn husks. Served over a bed of mesculin greens. $7.99", was quite good, but I doubt they make it in-house.

I erred when I said I doubted that they made their own tamales. They do make their own! This might be reason enough alone to try this place for yourself.