Hicks Stop & Shop Food Mart

People think I’m crazy for driving 2 hours south from my home to Clarksdale MS on semi annual tamale runs. Well, I might be crazy, but it’s a good crazy for Hick’s Hot Tamales! Yes folks, these are the best I’ve ever had. This trip, I bought 5 dozen, packed them babies in the freezer when I got home, to be consumed at a later date… well, some that same day.
Little masa, lots of meat, and a ton of flavor. Oh Yeah!
There are several tamale places in Clarksdale, but my fav is definitely Hick’s. Thanks Mr. Hicks for making the best tamales I’ve ever had.

This place has awesome ribs and tamales and really friendly owners who came out to share some local information with us. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience including the down-​home atmosphere of the place. I highly recommend this as a not-​to-​be-​missed experience in Clarksdale!

The tamales were great and all but what really made this meal special was, the guys working there were supremely cool — real Mississippi diplomats, those two. We hit the KFC down the road for some biscuits to go with the tamales and to mop up that sauce. All told, we were thoroughly satisfied.

After having lunch at the Yazoo for three days in a row, my friends and I were looking for a quick lunch. We learned we were in the heart of the famed hot tamale trail (
). We turned to Unilocal to help us find the nearest place for hot tamales, and ended up walking a couple miles in 80-​plus weather for these red hot gems.
When we arrived, the shop didn’t look open and the front door was locked. After walking around and seeing cars in the parking lot and drive thru, a man waved us back toward the entrance and opened the door. Once inside, we were able to order at the register and seat ourselves at the booths. The walls are decorated with awards and new stories.
My party of ten ordered the tamales, which are different from authentic Mexican tamales I’ve had. These tamales were made from corn meal and filled with seasoned beef. They were wrapped in corn shucks, and were dripping with the «juice» they were simmered in. This «juice» was chili oil, and the tamales were saturated in the oil. Boy oh boy, were these tamales good. Messy, yes, but oh so good. I also ordered the corn nuggets, which were one of the reasons I came back to Hick’s. Creamed corn, dipped in batter, and fried. These nuggets were not greasy, and had just the right amount of sweetness I have come to associate with creamed corn.
In addition to the tamales, corn nuggets, and meat plates, Hick’s also sells single cup brewed coffee and coffee drinks. Although Hick’s fits more into the fast food category, the couple that owns and runs Hick’s are very kind and the wife was a sweetheart who took the time to come over and talk to my group. When we returned a couple days later for the corn nuggets and more tamales, she remembered us and asked us how we were doing as if we were old friends swinging by for a visit. Love this place!

We went on a tamale hunt with our friends in Clarkesdale. Basically we held an informal tamale-​off between Larry’s and Hicks Tamales. First we tried Larry’s.
We went in and we told them we wanted to try the tamales to see if we would buy some more. So Larry set up four plates each with a tamale and sauce. Try them he said. For free. Obviously a man very confident in the quality of his tamales. So try them did. He has every reason to be confident. My friend, a big tamale lover proclaimed them excellent. Myself, who was never a big lover of tamales found them great, turned into a tamale lover. Poopsie Dumpling, who had never got past the corn husk before, was impressed. They were tasty, just the right consistency, and spiced just nicely. We each bought a dozen frozen tamales for later. The guys at Larry’s were a lot of fun and it was a very jovial time.
Then we went to Hicks to try them out. The welcome was nowhere near as effusive at Larry’s. However, the owner did warm up a bit as we went along. We ordered and paid for six tamales and split them amongst the four of us. They were pretty good, but not quite as good as Larry’s. But they were good enough to see if we could buy some frozen ones. They didn’t have any frozen, but they did have some refrigerated. So we each bought a dozen refrigerated tamales from Hicks. For some reason, the price of the second dozen was less that the first dozen. Go figure.
At this stage, we were still in tamale rapture. So we went back to Larry’s and we each bought another frozen dozen. At this stage, each couple had three dozen tamales. We told Larry that he had won our contest.
So, end result, Larry’s was the winner and got 5 stars, for friendliness and really good tamales.
Hicks was runner up and got 4 stars. Had we never been to Larry’s, he would have been the winner.
On a side note, on the Monday night after our weekend in Clarkesdale, we had the Hicks tamales for supper. There were as good as when we had them in Clarkesdale.

We were there on New Year’s Day, and couldn’t find any food places that were open. After much driving, we saw the open sign at Hicks. As the previous reviewer Shannon says, the front door was locked because most folks go through the drive through. Anyway, the door was opened for us and I scarfed 2 of the most wonderful fried catfish sandwiches ever.
Check out the interesting articles on the walls about how the business was started by the husband and wife team (she went through tamale-​making auditions!) and how Bill Clinton visited when he was still governor. The staff were very nice.

This is listed as Hick’s Stop and Shop but also found it as Hick’s Food Variety Shop on the internet at
We drove through Clarksdale on a Monday. The shop didn’t look opened and was locked. After walking around and thinking maybe they just used the drive thru a women opened the door and let us in. They were open but maybe they just don’t get enough weekday customers to keep the door unlocked? Anyway — very interesting tamales. Spicy but good. The sides were good too.
Try it if you run through there — the original/​legendary Robert Johnson Crossroads is just down the street — don’t blink, you’ll miss it.