Does anyone remember "Red's Tamales?"

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And a great slogan it was. Every so often, I'll mention "Red's Tamales Day" to somebody (on a Tuesday of course) and enjoy watching the blank stares.
 
i take it you 2 are in cali? i am on the other coast. what was the slogan?
 
"Tuesday is Red's Tamales Day."

I think this must have been a local Oakland product.

Another great slogan is for Blue Diamond Almonds (Central California Almond Growers Coop)

"A can a week, that's all we ask."
 
"Tuesday is Red's Tamales Day."

I think this must have been a local Oakland product.

Another great slogan is for Blue Diamond Almonds (Central California Almond Growers Coop)

"A can a week, that's all we ask."
i like blue diamond products. and i vaguely remember that slogan.

this reminds me of the movie demolition man, they sing all the jingles :LOL:

i miss the old jingles "i'm a pepper shes a pepper wouldn't you like to be a pepper too ........." :LOL:
 
Red's Tamales were great

Hey all,
I know a few things about Red's Tamales. My father worked for a time around 1955 for Ingram's Food Products and was successful in getting some school systems in the San Francisco Bay Area to take Red's for lunches.
The company was owned by John Reading. He was mayor of Oakland from 1966-1977 and sold the company in the 70's. The Oakland Coliseum was built on his watch. My family had dinner at the Reading's house when I was a young kid and my lasting impression is of a man with a strong personality who cooked corn-on-the-cob on his barbecue. It tasted burned.
The tamales were made in a pretty traditional manner, so I suspect the dough was made with real lard. The filling tasted great but not very spicy. It had meat and sauce. I wish I had the exact recipe for it.
You can't find really good, ready-made tamales on the East Coast. I make decent tamale pie for my family, but not as good as the lunch ladies made in the San Lorenzo school district in the 1960s.
I remember A&W Root Beer, Casper's Hot Dogs in Oakland and the Doggie Diner downtown. Doggie Diner put a sauce and stuff on their hamburgers that was terriffic, too.
Happy cooking!
olddj1
 
Good eats long gone.

Casper's Hot Dogs are still around, mostly in strip centers and are pretty good. Doggie Diner is long gone, but there are a few Doggie Heads in various locations around the bay. Mostly in private collections. There was a flap a couple of years ago in the City when someone wanted to put a doggie head out for display and the locals out in the avenues didn't want it.

A&W is still around, part of Yum! Brands. They opened a new store up on Fremont Blvd. (the old Oakland Road) a couple of weeks ago with the glass mugs and A&W on tap. Yummmmmmm. A couple of years ago, I ate at an A&W in Watkins Lake, Yukon.

But now that you brought it up, remember Foster's Freeze?

Now back to Red's. Did it turn into another brand, or did it just fade out? It was the best 5 cent lunch in the bay area.

cheers!

Paul
 
Hey all,
I know a few things about Red's Tamales. My father worked for a time around 1955 for Ingram's Food Products and was successful in getting some school systems in the San Francisco Bay Area to take Red's for lunches.
The company was owned by John Reading. He was mayor of Oakland from 1966-1977 and sold the company in the 70's. The Oakland Coliseum was built on his watch. My family had dinner at the Reading's house when I was a young kid and my lasting impression is of a man with a strong personality who cooked corn-on-the-cob on his barbecue. It tasted burned.
The tamales were made in a pretty traditional manner, so I suspect the dough was made with real lard. The filling tasted great but not very spicy. It had meat and sauce. I wish I had the exact recipe for it.
You can't find really good, ready-made tamales on the East Coast. I make decent tamale pie for my family, but not as good as the lunch ladies made in the San Lorenzo school district in the 1960s.
I remember A&W Root Beer, Casper's Hot Dogs in Oakland and the Doggie Diner downtown. Doggie Diner put a sauce and stuff on their hamburgers that was terriffic, too.
Happy cooking!
olddj1
you sure are right on the money about no good tamales on the east coast!! when i was a kid in the 60's my mom took us to flemington junction in NJ. back when it was just little buildings scatered around railroad tracks. there was a tiny restaraunt, more like a shack from the outside called Tico Taco. but when you went inside they hard hardwood tables and benches with backs suspended on chains from the ceiling. it was exciting for a kid to eat a meal on a swinging table and chair! :LOL: anyway they had THE BEST tacos and tamales. they are gone now and i miss them so much. there are still A&W all american restaraunts in the PA area and they still serve rootbeer and rootbeer floats in frosted mugs. just my two cents
 
I don't know who bought the food company, but I'm not aware of it or the tamales and other products continuing. I remember the Foster's Freeze name but I don't have memories of flavors associated with them. I do remember eating multiple times in a Casper's that was possibly on Broadway in Oakland. It had a nickel jukebox, too. That would have been around 1962. I wasn't aware at that time of any other locations, although there might have been. I've always been sorry that small chains like Doggie Diner with really great-tasting products have been driven out of business by the onslaught of mega-chains. In a cross-country trip in 1959 from New Jersey to Northern Calif., I ate hamburgers at small Mom n' Pop restaurants at nearly every stop. They were all different, and they were mostly delicious. Those days are over. On an 1,100-mile trip to Minnesota last June, everywhere we got off the highway looked a lot like San Jose with all the same restaurants. We did find a great one, though, Paul. If you're ever in the middle of the country, go out of your way to eat at the Beef House Restaurant, off I-74 at Covington, Indiana, near the Illinois border. Not fast food, one of the best meals I've ever eaten, and not expensive. Mmmmmmm. mmm. Let's see. If I leave now and drive fast, what time would it be....
-Mark, aka olddj1
 
I don't know who bought the food company, but I'm not aware of it or the tamales and other products continuing. I remember the Foster's Freeze name but I don't have memories of flavors associated with them. I do remember eating multiple times in a Casper's that was possibly on Broadway in Oakland. It had a nickel jukebox, too. That would have been around 1962. I wasn't aware at that time of any other locations, although there might have been. I've always been sorry that small chains like Doggie Diner with really great-tasting products have been driven out of business by the onslaught of mega-chains. In a cross-country trip in 1959 from New Jersey to Northern Calif., I ate hamburgers at small Mom n' Pop restaurants at nearly every stop. They were all different, and they were mostly delicious. Those days are over. On an 1,100-mile trip to Minnesota last June, everywhere we got off the highway looked a lot like San Jose with all the same restaurants. We did find a great one, though, Paul. If you're ever in the middle of the country, go out of your way to eat at the Beef House Restaurant, off I-74 at Covington, Indiana, near the Illinois border. Not fast food, one of the best meals I've ever eaten, and not expensive. Mmmmmmm. mmm. Let's see. If I leave now and drive fast, what time would it be....
-Mark, aka olddj1
can i come with you? LOL are you from NJ? i know what you mean about every rest area having the same lousy chain food places. we drive when we go on vacation and it is hard to find any good mom and pop's any more.
 
Well, in 2006, us empty nesters took a 9000 mile road trip back east to New England on US 2. It was a blue highway trip all the way until Salt Lake City on the way home and we were tired, so we took I-80 the rest of the way. We ate great food all the way, from little cafes in Bonners Ferry ID to Malta MT to Bemiji MN to Bea's cafe and the Scarecrow in Conway NH. There was a great place in Saratoga NY. I wish I could remember the names of all of them. All little "mom and pop" places. All great food and friendly people. Just reminds me that the rest of the US isn't like California.

So I developed my first law of good eats: "There is an inverse relationship between the fanciness of the restaurant and the quality of the food."

My second law: "If it has red velvet wallpaper, run for your life."

I will always be a fan of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

Cheers!

Paul
 
Well, in 2006, us empty nesters took a 9000 mile road trip back east to New England on US 2. It was a blue highway trip all the way until Salt Lake City on the way home and we were tired, so we took I-80 the rest of the way. We ate great food all the way, from little cafes in Bonners Ferry ID to Malta MT to Bemiji MN to Bea's cafe and the Scarecrow in Conway NH. There was a great place in Saratoga NY. I wish I could remember the names of all of them. All little "mom and pop" places. All great food and friendly people. Just reminds me that the rest of the US isn't like California.

So I developed my first law of good eats: "There is an inverse relationship between the fanciness of the restaurant and the quality of the food."

My second law: "If it has red velvet wallpaper, run for your life."

I will always be a fan of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

Cheers!

Paul
:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: i understand completely. I have driven to canada to florida to arizona. i have run across THOSE kinda places. :LOL:
 
So I developed my first law of good eats: "There is an inverse relationship between the fanciness of the restaurant and the quality of the food."
I would not agree with this as a broad statement, but I have frequently said the same thing for lobster places in New England. The dumpier the place looks the better the food will be. We look for the most run down shack possible and are never disappointed :cool:

I had never even heard of Red's Tamales until I read about it on this site. Now I am sorry I have missed out on something that sounds so great.
 
Memories

If it has red velvet wallpaper, Run for your life!
I have found that some of the best "Ice Creme Parlours" have "Red Velvet wallpaper". So I'll still seek them out.:wacko:
I do remember Fosters Freeze. Soft Serve Cones and Sundae's I think. I loved the cones dipped in chocolate coating with crushed peanuts. My folks used to stop by every weekend after shopping at the GEM Store in San Leandro. Hey, olddj1 ever eat at Mr. B's? I believe it was at Hacienda and Hesperian. I used to do prep & cleanup there in the early 70's. Before and after school. I also painted every Winchell's Donut House in California one summer to pay for college. Great travel experience but could never eat donuts again:ROFLMAO:. Both my parents worked for "The SLZUSD" at one time so I know all about the lunches and the "Ladies" in their white uniforms:angel:. Pizza Day, Fish Sticks, Hot Dogs and the best Sticky Buns on Earth. We used to get little tickets to pay for the food instead of cash so that we wouldn't skip lunch and walk to the "Candy Shack".;)
 
OK, a couple of comments here. We don't have any "Ice Cream Parlors" here in town, so I can't really address that. Some of the fancier restaurants with the red velvet wall paper and the snooty wait staff and the recommendations of the so-called "travel writers" don't live up to the expectations and price. We had a lunch one day in a well regarded place up the Napa Valley. It was garnish on a plate and the bill was North of $100. I sure won't eat there again. It wasn't the price, just the lousy food, what there was of it.

Compared that with a place called the Scarecrow in Conway, NH. Not fancy, but some of the best food I have ever had and a wait staff that treats you like family, even though we'll probably never be back that way again.

Cheers!

Paul

"Eat to live, live to eat."
 
Absolutely Correct!

Run For Your Life!
Most of the "Hoitey Toitey" Restaurants around here don't live up to their billing either. Spa sized portions of fusion fare. :ohmy:
Sorry for the "cryptic" comment about Ice Creme Parlours. It was meant for forum members with old ties to the Bay Area. There were a few "Farrel's Old Tyme Ice Creme Parlours" around in the 70's. A family style sit down affair with waiters dressed in 1890's costumes complete with straw hats and arm garters, red & white striped vests and white pants and shoes. The decor was "Gay 90's" hence the red velvet wallpaper:LOL:. They made a big show over Birthday's and other special days. Fire Bells, Drums, Singing, Sirens and Whistles. Kind of Disneyish but great Ice Cream Features. :pig:
 
I remember Farrel's, but I don't remember going there. In the '70s, the kids were babies and my career was taking off, so we didn't go out much. There was another Ice Cream Parlour in the Fremont Hub, but it closed years ago. Meanwhile, we're stuck with Baskin-Robbins. But their sundae's are OK.

Cheers!

Paul
 
This is such a walk down memory lane! I have always said oh, it's Tuesday, must be Red's Tomales Day, on my Tuesday emails sent to my 87-year-old aunt (another native San Franciscan) and cousin misplaced in South Carolina the subject line is Tuesday, Must Be Red's Tomales Day. I was born and raised in San Francisco and come from a long line of natives. I can remember as a kid getting ready for school and hearing the Red's Tomales commercials on the Doug Phletcher (sp?) show on the radio. One of those childhood memories kids today hear about and look at you like you've lost your marbles!! Thanks for the memories!
 
As long as we're walking down memory lane...don't ever forget the Doggie Diner...oooohh, the best dogs in town, do I dare say better than the ones at the ball park? (Candlestick)...I remember going to breakfast at Doggie Diner down on the corner Guerrero (or was it Valencia) and Army Street (I think--It was a long time ago!)--mustard, relish, and don't hold the onions! To die for!
 
The only thing I found in a Google search was Red's Tamales were sold by Inland Food which was in probably in Oakland, California. From the description it soundslike a tradiontal tamale made with shredded pork and a mole sause.
 
I remember Farrel's, but I don't remember going there. In the '70s, the kids were babies and my career was taking off, so we didn't go out much. There was another Ice Cream Parlour in the Fremont Hub, but it closed years ago. Meanwhile, we're stuck with Baskin-Robbins. But their sundae's are OK.

Cheers!

Paul

I remember when Raskin-Robbins had the best ice cream. I coulldn't wait for summer and peach ice cream. I haven't found anything like that in 40 years.
 

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