Oceanside Business Profile: Vera’s Tamale Express

There’s an old saying that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. When Marine Sgt. Rudy Mercado moved to Camp Pendleton in the 1960’s, little did he know that he was about to meet his future wife who would show him that Mexican cuisine in Southern California was totally different than the Tex-Mex version he grew-up eating in Texas.

“My husband not only married a real California girl, he got one who knew how to cook real Mexican cuisine,” said Vera Mercado, chef and owner of Vera’s Tamale Express in Oceanside.

In Southern California, we’re fortunate to have access to flavorful Mexican cuisine, but the deeper you get into the heartland does it change?

“Have you ever had a Tex-Mex tamale?” Mercado asked. “It’s totally different than the kind we make in Mexico.”

The tamale was first introduced to America at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. Since corn is an American staple, the tamale’s popularity quickly spread into American regional cuisines. In the South, cornmeal tamales are drenched with gravy and in the Midwest you can buy a slice of tamale pie. In Texas, the tamale looks like a giant Tex-Mex dumpling filled with barbeque beef and cheese.

“There’s a large community of Mexican-American (Marines) at the base who’ve discovered my store and have become regular customers,” Mercado said. “They’re always surprised to hear I married a (Marine) or that I also have many nephews and other family members in the military.”

Mercado first started selling her homemade tamales, sauces and tortilla chips at craft shows, home and garden fairs and the Long Beach Farmers Market. Each Sunday, Mercado and her daughter make the weekly trek to the Hollywood Farmers Market, where Vera’s Tamale Express runs one of the most popular food stalls at the market.

“When you buy tamales at other stands, there’s never any meat in them and seldom do they use real mesa,” Mercado said. “I knew if I made a good product, people would buy my tamales.”

Mercado works out of a small storefront in the Mission Camino shopping center. There’s always a line of guests stopping by for a quick take-out lunch, or to buy her packaged goods.

“Most Americans think Mexican food is what you get at those fast-food places,” said Mercado. “I try to make my food as authentic as my sisters and I learned from our mother.”

Mercado prepares her tamales with the actual ground corn kernels and offers traditional stuffing of marinated pork, chicken and beef. For vegan options, there are tamales made with green corn, mushroom and roasted garlic, jalapeno with cheese and mixed vegetables tamale that are made with corn, green beans and zucchini. They’re served with a package of homemade tortilla chips and a choice of red salsa or salsa verde.

“Because of all of the children who buy my tamales, I don’t make them spicy,” Mercado said. “If you want fire, then customers can add my sauces to the dish.”

Mercado also sells unusual traditional Mexican side dishes such as enchilada sauce, pickled carrots with cactus and purple beets with Mexican chili and spices.

“Have you ever tasted my blueberries cooked with spicy habenero?” Mercado asks. “You put a spoonful on bread or ice cream. I promise you will taste Mexico.”