In 1999, the Tamale House Fixed Austin’s Hangovers on Airport Boulevard

The Tamale House #3 on Airport Boulevard, shot in 1999. Image: YouTube

You’ll still find a Tamale House elsewhere in town, but the location most cherished by Austinites on Airport Boulevard was technically the restaurant’s third iteration — though in our experience most people eating there didn’t have a firm understanding of why the sign had a #3 at the end. Opened in 1977 and closed after the death of owner Robert Vasquez in 2014, the Tamale House was arguably one of the main players responsible for Austin’s city-wide affinity for the breakfast taco.

A street view of the Tamale House circa 2009, five years before it closed for good.

Documentarian Susannah Erler filmed the definitive history of the Tamale House #3 in 1999, and two decades later, its portrait of the city’s laid-back, pre-boom, possibly hung over population is one of Austin’s more profound ’90s cultural artifacts:

(h/t to Leyla Shams for sending this our way.)

[widget id=”dsidx-listings-7″]

Editor's Suggested Posts

Catching up with MTV's 'Austin Stories,' Nearly 20 Years Later

At Downtown Austin's Empty Post Office, the Wait Is Longer Than Usual

In Loving Memory: Downtown Austin's 'Golden Mirror'