Beloved Mexican food disappearing from restaurant menus across America

The tamale was once a familiar presence on Mexican restaurant menus in the United States, sharing space with tacos, burritos and enchiladas.

Increasingly, though, diners looking for one may have to search.

Tamale entrées have dropped 7.8% from menus over the past five years, according to Technomic's Ignite Menu data comparing the second quarters of 2021 and 2026.

One reason may be a basic restaurant calculation: Tamales require considerable labor for something diners expect to be relatively inexpensive.

POPULAR TEX-MEX CHAIN ABRUPTLY SHUTTERS REMAINING RESTAURANTS ACROSS AMERICA AMID INDUSTRY STRUGGLES Robert Mahon, director of operations for Mahon Hospitality Group, runs Amor Loco and Toro Loco in New York City, neither of which serves tamales.

Mahon enjoys tamales himself and said his restaurants have discussed offering them, but the economics can be difficult.

"Even though the ingredients might not be so costly, it's more the labor," Mahon told Fox News Digital.

"It's so labor-intensive." That labor becomes apparent at Taquería Picoso in Alexandria, Virginia, where executive chef Elio Gomez keeps tamales on the menu.

Gomez said his process takes about three days.

His restaurant sources corn from Mexico, then cooks it through an overnight nixtamalization process.

The corn is ground into masa , while fillings and banana leaves are prepared separately.

The masa must then be mixed with fat, broth and salt and aerated to achieve the right consistency before the tamales can be assembled, carefully wrapped and cooked.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS Training someone to do all that takes time, too.

Gomez said he spent months working alongside the employee who now makes his tamales.