Unboxing History

Savoring History - The First Food Truck

• Unboxing History | History Expert Jodi Wright-Gidley & Galveston Author Christine Hopkins • Season 1 • Episode 3

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This episode of Unboxing History provides a detailed discussion about the history of a tamale cart once belonging to Mr. Serrato, known as Dan the Tamale Man, in Galveston. It includes interviews with a local Texas Star Bakery owner and tamale expert, Cris Chapa, and Chef Mary Bass of La Cocina Market, discussing the process of making tamales and the influence of different cultures on Galveston's food. The episode also highlights the evolution of food convenience and the impact of immigration on the island's diverse culinary scene. The tamale cart is now part of the Galveston County Museum's collection.



Thank you for listening to Unboxing History, presented by the Galveston County Museum.
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History of the Galveston County Museum
The Galveston County Museum was formed in 1976. It was located on Market Street for many years. After Hurricane Ike damaged the HVAC and electrical systems in 2008, the unharmed artifacts were moved. Now, the museum is located in the Galveston County courthouse building at 722 Moody/21st Street in Galveston.

​Galveston County Museum is a joint project of the Galveston County Commissioners Court and Galveston County History, Inc. The museum cares for a collection of 20,000 artifacts and archives. We also maintain the Historical Commission's library. If you are interested in research or donating an artifact related to Galveston County history, please call 409.766.2340.

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Unboxing History Episode 3

 [00:00:00] Welcome to Unboxing History. I'm Christine Hopkins, a Galveston author and a local expert, and 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: I'm Jodi Wright Gidley, Director of the Galveston County Museum.

Christine Hopkins: So as you'd guess the Galveston County Museum is filled with treasures and every month we're going to unbox a new treasure. That's part of the museum collection. So Jodi this month. What's our treasure?

Jodi Wright-Gidley: 

So our treasure is a lantern. This is the kind of lantern that you would use to signal trains.

Red meant stop. But in the case of this artifact, red meant go buy tamales. So, the lantern was part of this tamale cart. And so, Mr. Serrato was a gentleman who sold tamales out of this cart, and you've all been to a food truck before probably, and so this is like the precursor to the modern food truck. 

Christine Hopkins: So as part of this treasure [00:01:00] we have two special guests coming on today's Unboxing History podcast. But first, Jodi, what makes this cart so special and what's its connection to Galveston? 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: So, there was a gentleman and his name was Daniel Serrato. He moved from Central Texas to Galveston in 1925. He worked as a laborer, but he always had a dream of owning his own business.

Well, his family, his wife, ran a boarding house out of their home for Hispanic workers and families. She cooked Mexican food, including tamales. And so her good cooking is what made him be able to create this business. So at one time the family had three tamale carts selling tamales at lots of locations around town.

And Mr. Serrato was called Dan the Tamale Man. And he was known for being at the location in this cart at 25th and Broadway near the Texas Heroes Monument. And he sold his wife's tamales out of this cart for years until his 70s. On hot days, he'd park under the shade tree at open gates, the Sealy [00:02:00] Home.

And he was just always known from locals and tourists. They would look for him and buy his tamales. 

Christine Hopkins: Well, I mean, this is really an interesting, kind of a, talk about an entrepreneur story for someone, an immigrant, and how they made their living and, and we'll hear later about how food evolved as far as dining in Galveston.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Yeah so, um, another interesting story about the cart is, so after Mr. Serrato retired and didn't sell tamales anymore, it became part of a, of a church's collection. They painted it red and, and used it for a few events. Well, then eventually in 1987 the cart was donated to our museum. And at that time it was red.

And a lot of people would come to the museum and say, wait a minute, that's not supposed to be red. I remember Dan the tamale man, it's supposed to be blue. So at the time when the museum was closed after Hurricane Ike, we took that time to make some changes. And one of them was to restore the tamale cart back to its [00:03:00] original color.

So we visited with Mr. Serrato's grandson, a gentleman that had worked for him. And together they restored the tamale cart and 

Christine Hopkins: Such a great history, and again, it's one of those unique treasures that only, you'll only find here at the County Museum.

Since Dan, the tamale man sold tamales, we thought it would be appropriate to have a local expert. So we have Cris Chapa of the Star Bakery here. So welcome Cris to Unboxing History. 

Cris Chapa: Thank you. Thank you very much, Christine.

Christine Hopkins: 

Well, so how long has Star Bakery been around? Since 1940, 84 years. Oh my gosh, and tell us a little bit about that. 

Cris Chapa: Well, my uncle Mike Perez started the bakery and, um, three generations on his family have worked it. He worked it as children and grandchildren. And then my family took over in 1970. My mom, my siblings, and now my nephews.

And [00:04:00] we've worked there 54 years, very proudly to serve, serving Galveston. 

Christine Hopkins: Wow. Well, you know, so Dan, the tamale man, sold tamales from his cart on 25th and Broadway. So tell us, like, what does it take to make tamales like this? These are just beautiful. What are these? 

Cris Chapa: These are pork tamales, very traditional.

Uh, tamales is an all day process. You have to begin by prepping your meat, cooking it all night long. We cook it all night long, from about 9 o'clock to 6 in the morning, it's ready. And then you have to chop it up, spice it up, season it. And, uh, you have to prep your corn shucks the day before. and cut them to size and soak them in boiling hot water and clean them and wash them and soak them and then put them on a tray to drip so you can get them ready for spreading.

In your masa, we have a 120 quart mixer where I can, I blend 80 to 100 pounds of masa at one [00:05:00] time instead of doing it by hand because it's very back breaking and laborious task to do that by hand. But, uh, It's very beautiful just to know because my mom taught us and we learned just by putting everything by hand by feel and looking at the dough become creamy and just smooth and we work it and we spread it all by hand and we fill the tamales with the meat and then we prep them all and put them in bundles of six and we cook anywhere from 10, 20 dozen at a time on a daily basis.

And, uh, the months of October through December are when they're more festive and families gather to make them. And, uh, it's an all day thing for a family to be together and rejoice and be happy and just make the tamales and then enjoy eating them. And my mom, when she used to make them, she'd make them and her friends would say, Ms.

Chapa, are you ready for [00:06:00] Christmas? She'd say, oh yes, I've been wrapping and wrapping all my gifts. And they'd say, really? She, and she would say, yes, I make tamales and give them out to my family and friends as Christmas gifts. And they would really enjoy those.

Christine Hopkins: Well, and you, between October and New Year's Eve, how many tamales do you make?

Cris Chapa: 

At least 2, 000 dozen or more, depending what the clientele purchases. But, uh, we also make the chicken, the beef, the vegetarian, and also sweet tamales. I see. And people order those extra, you know, because the pork ones are the ones we carry all 

the time. 

Christine Hopkins: Well, pork is what I grew up with, but it's, but it's neat to see that there's all these new fillings now.

Yes. I hadn't heard about the fruit. Tell me about that.

Cris Chapa: The fruit ones, you make them with a white corn masa, and you use a all vegetable shortening, and you use cinnamon, and the butter or shortening, and you add your fruits, whether it's apples, raisins, cinnamon, [00:07:00] Pecans, whatever you like. And those are very good as a dessert.

Christine Hopkins: 

Well, why do you think that, uh, tamales would have been an easy or a good comfort, or good food to have available in a food cart? 

Cris Chapa: Well, it's very easy to eat. You just unwrap it and take it and go, you know. It's really quick to eat. eat and very delicious. People just love them, especially in the cold weather.

Christine Hopkins: 

Oh, that's true. That's what I crave it is over the winter months when it's chilly outside. And aren't they good luck too? Oh yes, 

Cris Chapa: yes, they really are. Well, 

Christine Hopkins: I think so. Well, uh, tell us where people can find 

Cris Chapa: you. We're located at 5425 Broadway and, um, it's on the way on the southbound lanes coming from Houston.

And we're there to serve and You can special order whatever you 

Christine Hopkins: like. And you always know when Star Bakery is open because they have their big flag outside. American flag. Outside that you see that you know that they're open. So, look for the flag and then [00:08:00] stop in. But in addition to tamales, you have all kinds of wonderful pastries.

Cris Chapa: 

Yes, all kinds of Mexican pastries from the conchas, empanadas, cakes, cookies, the polvorones that you like. Oh, yeah. And then the pineapple empanadas are also very popular. And, uh, I also make wedding cakes and birthday cakes and decorated cookies. We're very popular, you know, people come from all over the state of Texas and some people move away and ask me to ship tamales to them overnight.

The pastries, the cake, the marble cake is very popular. 

Christine Hopkins: Wow. Well, now, as I can smell these tamales, I'm really craving them, and I look forward to trying some of these new flavors that I've never had before. Thank you so much, Cris, for coming.

Cris Chapa: Oh, you're very welcome, Christine. for inviting me. I really enjoyed it.

 

Christine Hopkins: This was fun. I'm very happy to be here. Well, and look at these beautiful tamales. Oh, my gosh. Again, these are pork, and they smell delicious, and make sure you, you know, and the other thing is you can freeze them. 

Cris Chapa: 

Yes, you can freeze them and just reheat them. My grandmother used to put them [00:09:00] on the comal and just toast them and give them to us for breakfast.

And they're very good. It tastes almost like Fritos with the masa toasted. 

Christine Hopkins: Well, thanks again. And again, this is Cris Chapa from the Star Bakery sharing a little bit more about tamales to tie in with this month's Unboxing History treasure. Thank 

Cris Chapa: you, Christine. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Now that we've learned about tamales from Cris Chapa, we are going to learn about food history with Chef Mary Bass. Hi, how are you? Good. So, Chef Mary Bass has been named best chef of the island by Galveston. com and she owns La Cocina Market and Good Dough Kolache Factory. 

Mary Bass: Yes, that is me. We're on 39th Street, uh, here on the island.

So, we're excited to be here.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Good. So, Daniel Serrato's story started with his wife cooking in their home. Now did you also get your start from cooking in your home?

Mary Bass: Yes. I lived upstairs and my grandma lived downstairs. We had a house on Cedar in LaMarque. I was seven years old and she, every Sunday would have all the first [00:10:00] time visitors from church over.

And so we would prepare the meals and I learned at her feet and have worked in cooked out of my home, for quite a while.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: So, in the tamale cart story, we know that good tasting food helped him start his business. And, but it was also about convenience. Can you talk a little bit about food convenience and what you do at your places?

Mary Bass: Yeah, so, food convenience has come a long way over, um, you know, the past hundred years or so in Galveston. You used to just be able to have to walk in and sit down at a restaurant. And then came pick up windows, like at Star Drug, where you could Grab and go and then um, and then it slowly started going into like drive in theater or drive in restaurants kind of like Sonic is nowadays where you pull up and they would serve you um, and so it just got more and more convenient for the consumer where for our concept now you walk in you grab your entire dinner kind of like Mrs Doubtfire [00:11:00] did when she like put her dinner out and it was something she had ordered, you know. You can do that with us.

And so we have, you know individually packaged meals And the consumer can just walk in and grab and leave with them. So it's interesting how in restaurants have progressed so quickly um from having to sit down and eat a meal with your family to be in having the convenience of grabbing and going

Jodi Wright-Gidley: So Mr..Serrato's tamale cart was kind of like an early food truck. So and that's even even more Grab and go 

Mary Bass: you're on. Yeah, food trucks are great. Food trucks on the island have really exploded over the past few years, and you can see them pretty much on every corner now, um, and it's great because, you know, how this is, he had to have everything prepared and carried it around.

On a food truck, you can cook everything fresh, so it's the convenience, but you still get that good taste because everything is coming to you fresh.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: You mentioned Star Drug, and so Star Drug was the first, um, diner on the island to desegregate? 

Mary Bass: Yes, [00:12:00] they had the first integrated food counter, um, and it's amazing, Galveston is, um, generally on the right side of that, so we're, uh, you know, you can still go to Star Drug today, which is great, a lot of our historic restaurants you can still dine in here on the island.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: So, as I've learned about tamales, I've also wondered about how different cultures have influenced food in Galveston. You know, Galveston was an immigration port in the early 1900s, so we had such a diverse culture. And I would imagine that would impact food. Can you talk on that? 

Mary Bass: Yeah, so a lot of, um, the last round of immigration from Europe kind of came through, so we got a lot of Eastern Europeans and, um, So you can see that like in the bakeries and the delicious like baked goods that eventually ended up settling in central Texas You've got the Italians, the Maceos, the Smeccas, their families immigrated here and really set the stage for what good Italian food is.

Galveston's got some of the best. So it's, [00:13:00] it's been cool to see how you know, these families, they set up in different neighborhoods and, and you can really, like you could go outside and enjoy the smells of the, the, the mamas and the, the nonnis and all the different families cooking. Um, but then those people figured out that as tourists came to the island, that they might not be able to experience that type of food.

So then they started opening the restaurants and stuff to really give their families. take on delicious food that they brought from their countries to, um, the tourists who were coming. And then eventually the locals started eating. And so it was, you know, it was a nice, uh, blend of people who were coming to visit the island and, um, people who were living here regularly.

Yeah. I think that was in a lot of the tamale man story too, is he not only sold to locals, but it was tourists he would attract being right there on Broadway. 

It's nice to give them something, an option. Not [00:14:00] everybody can go and sit down in a restaurant, especially today. When they're on the beach, you know, they don't necessarily want those sandy people walking in their doors.

Uh, they will take them though. And the, but now, you know, you have that convenience of just being able to like walk up and grab and go. And those, the food trucks give you that opportunity. And this is just the great grandfather of it. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: So I know Mary that your family has strong roots in Galveston.

So can you tell us about that and why you chose to be here with your business? 

Mary Bass: Yes. So I'm a fifth generation Galvestonian. My great great grandfather. Um, was Henry Ketchum and he lived in the Menard home, which is the oldest home on the island. Um, and and so my father got to grow up playing in the yard at the Menard house with his grandfather.

And so he has the coolest stories about, you know, 33rd street in that area. And so being a longtime Galvestonian, my parents met at Ball High and you know, we just got those roots. So when it came time to [00:15:00] Open my businesses. And I had attempted in other cities, but something about Galveston, man, it pulls you in.

And so they, you know, when I, as soon as I opened in Galveston, it just felt like I was back at home. And so being here, we're on 39th street on the corner of 39th and in, in a historic red brick building. It's beautiful. You can stop in where they're seven days a week from 6am to 6pm during the week and, uh, six to noon on the weekends.

And follow us online. Chef Mary Bass and uh, Good Dough Kolache. And see all the delicious things we've got in our store. Thank you. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: 

 

Christine Hopkins: Now I'm hungry. Galveston and Galveston County are just filled with these wonderful locally owned restaurants. I mean, you just think of Texas Star Bakery and Cris Chapa and the history behind that bakery since 1940.

And now we have Chef Mary Bass feeding people in her own way with La Cocina as well as the kolaches. So where can people see this original food truck?

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Well, it's always on exhibit [00:16:00] here at the courthouse. So the museum is located inside the courthouse at 722 21st Street. And this, you'll see it in the lobby.

Christine Hopkins: 

Well, and so if people are interested in becoming involved with the museum, or they have a hidden treasure, how would they reach out to you to donate that to the museum? 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Well, our collection is filled with things that are related to Galveston County. Family stories, business stories, and so if you have something that you'd like to donate, just give us a call.

You can go to our website at GalvestonCountyHistory. org and you'll find ways there to contact us and we'll talk about it. 

Christine Hopkins: Join us next month for a new episode of Unboxing History. And remember, if you haven't made it to the County Museum yet, find it at 722 21st Street.

The museum is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 to 4. Or schedule a private tour with Padlock Mystery on Tuesdays and Thursdays.