By the side of Route 42, less than a mile from campus is a small shop called Doña Fer Grocery Store. I’ve lived in the Harrisonburg area for my entire life, and admittedly, I have never been inside this little gem. I was enticed on this fine Sunday morning by a hand-written sign by the road – “Tomales Today” with a smiley face drawn inside the “o” in “Today.” I pulled into the lot that backs up to the stockyard on one side and parked my car. Entering the building, I walked through a breezeway full of beautiful green plants and opened the door to the shop.
Wonderful smells of baked goods, produce, and savory aromas filled my nose upon entry, and a colorful display of foods lined the shelves in front of me. I would call myself a veggie/fish-leaning flexitarian, but something about the aroma told me it was time to break the meat fast. I ordered four tamales, two pork and two chicken. After a lap around the store, I came back to the register with a tall cold can of horchata, two containers of tomatillo salsa, and a generous piece of yellowish-white cake with marbled strawberry jam on top, making a note of a large bin of dried garbanzo beans that will soon make it onto my next grocery list. As I was checking out my food, a guy who looked a couple years older than myself described to me how he was spoiled growing up because his mom made such good tamales every Thursday, and now nothing else compares. I loaded back into my car and drove the two and a half minutes back to my apartment, expectations high.
Opening up the styrofoam container, damp with condensation from the rising steam, from the four tamales that had just been taken out of the boiling water, the scent of masa and spices filled the room. I applied a liberal coating of tomatillo to a chicken tamal and took my first bite. I didn’t waste much time finishing off the rest of them, using most of the tomatillo salsa along the way.
The chicken tamale was well spiced, tender, and had an impressive amount of filling for being such a compact package. The pork tamales did not disappoint, either, especially since carnitas is one of the few things I have missed since giving up most meat about a year and a half ago. The pork was a perfect level of spicy and was proportioned well with the masa—the best pork tamale I can remember eating. The masa was a delicious texture as well: soft and moist, but not soggy. Fragile, but not crumbly. The tomatillo salsa added a hint of freshness and a cool contrast to the heat of the warm tamales and the spice from the meat.
The horchata and cake rounded out my lunch, leaving me feeling full and satisfied. I was particularly fond of the cake, light and smooth, filled with flavors of vanilla, milk, and jam. The can of horchata was good as well, although I couldn’t quite finish the full can because it was so rich.
Doña Fer’s pleasurable offerings are not available all week. I was told the best day to come and try a little bit of everything is on Saturday morning. If you find yourself in the mood for anything from pastries, to beans, to prickly pear, to massive bottles of Valentina hot sauce, and especially tamales, it would be worth your time to make the two and a half minute drive or 10 minute walk to this adorable shop right here in our own community.
