Hot tamales, cool market
Any Saturday, head to Waltham and you'll find homemade hot tamales at La Chapincita Market. Co-owner Braulio Mazariegos says these are his native, Guatemalan-style pork tamales wrapped in banana leaves. If you want to make your own Mexican-style tamales, there are plenty of corn husks too. "People come in here from Peru, Argentina, Mexico, and all over Central America looking for a little bit of home." Dance up the aisles to mariachi music, and you'll find a multitude of beans, dried chipotle peppers, chocolate tablets for making hot Mexican chocolate, the traditional molinillo for whisking it, fresh corn tortillas, fried plantain strips, and chicharrones de puerco (fried pork skins). Bring your appetite. La Chapincita Market, 424 Moody St., Waltham, 781-894-9552. 