Casa de Tamales

What's it like?

Growing up eating lots of Mexican food has made me glad I was born Mexican. Eating tamales in our family was usually reserved for special occasions, especially Christmas. And nobody made them better than Nana Hortencia and Aunt Virgie! It was a once a year tradition that we looked forward to every year. 

So when I heard that there was a new restaurant opening that specialized in making tamales, I was curious, a bit skeptical, but interested none the least. So today I made the trek to Casa de Tamales on Shaw near Barstow. Their located on the northwest side of the Kohl shopping center. 

Casa de Tamales is a local, family owned restaurant that opened just three weeks ago. The Sanchez family that own and operate this locale provide a warm, clean and friendly atmosphere. You can eat there or order to go. Their seating is limited, so if you have a big party of ten or more you'll probably order to go. They offer both traditional and gourmet style tamales. At first, I was only interested in their traditional style tamales. If they were going to win me over as a customer, the traditional style tamal was how I figured they were going to do it. So I ordered their traditional New Mexico Chile Pork. But Perla, the gal working the front register convinced me to try the Creamy Chicken Alfredo as well. She said, "You won't be sorry, I guarantee it." So I ordered the combo meal, one traditional New Mexico Chile Pork, and one Creamy Chicken Alfredo, accompanied with beans and rice.
 
I decided I would bite into the traditional New Mexico Chile Pork style tamal first. It was very flavorful, had just the right amount of spiciness and not too hot, very nice. The beans and rice with a little salsa on top tasted good as well, a nice complement to the meal. Then, not quite sure what expect from the gourmet Creamy Chicken Alfredo tamal, I took my first bite. And to my delightful surprise, this tamal tasted like no other I have ever savored. It was smooth, creamy, and really delicious! It was simply very good! Home run! I'm hooked! I'm a fan! Perla was right, I wasn't sorry, and I'm going back! They won a new customer today and I will no longer have to wait for until Christmas to enjoy a favorite Mexican tradition, tamales!