Sixteen Valley mayors participated in the first Battle of the Tamales at CityScape on Friday during Friendly House’s 78th annual Tamale Dinner.
Restaurants across Phoenix donated tamales for the event. Friendly House, an organization servicing new and incoming immigrants, had a tamale dinner committee that tasted all the tamales and selected the top three restaurants, said Channel 12’s Lissette Martinez, who provided commentary during the tasting.
Mayors from around the Valley, including Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, tasted and judged the tamales from the top three restaurants.
Each was rooting for a restaurant from their own city, but the finalists were kept secret from the mayors.
The mayors sat down at their places on stage and unwrapped three tamales each, tucking away their ties. Mayor Stanton also tucked a napkin into his collar. Martinez walked along the long table while they ate, asking for their top picks.
Once they had finished tasting, the mayors wrote the number of their favorite tamale on slips of paper to vote. The tamales from Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley took first place, while Serranos in Chandler and Fuego Bar and Grill in Tolleson tied for second place.
Prior to the tasting, Friendly House interim CEO Ed Hendricks thanked sponsors and talked about the work the organization is doing.
Hendricks said the event would support the immigration service department, which provides legal representation to clients. He said this would assist low-income individuals and families with obtaining immigration benefits.
“Tonight will help us serve 3,000 families in the next 12 months,” Hendricks said. “Tonight’s proceeds will help our Workforce Development Program place almost 1,000 people in better-paying jobs.”
In 2012, the program helped 820 clients be placed in jobs paying an average of $15 per hour.
Friendly House also has several programs for youth. These include their charter school, Academia Del Pueblo, as well as a Youth Education Services department, which provides counseling, career exploration, tutoring, preparation for college entrance exams and assistance completing financial aid applications.
“Three hundred students will earn their GED and our Academia Del Pueblo will educate 350 students,” Hendricks said.
Friendly House was established in Phoenix in 1920 to help new immigrants transition into their lives in Arizona.
“So many generations of immigrants have come to this city and Friendly House was their doorway, their entryway into the city,” Mayor Stanton said. “So many leaders of the city have warm memories of Friendly House and the services of Friendly House being that place to welcome generations of new people to our city.”
Contact the reporter at alabril@asu.edu
