A plate of tamales at Sabores Oaxaqueños. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Celebrate the holidays with 22 of the best tamales in L.A. and O.C.
There are certain signs that herald the arrival of the holiday season here in Los Angeles. The twinkling lights strung along our trafficked boulevards. The fake snow machines that delight children as they wait in line for mall Santa. The neighborhood vendors whose bell carts ring rhythmically as they stroll our streets and shout their top-selling item, “Tamales! Tamales!”
Wave down a vendor and you’ll find their tamales are as varied as the wrapped presents beneath a Christmas tree. The masa-based staple traces its origins to Mesoamerica and has countless iterations — around 500 types of tamales are credited to Mexico alone, plus bite-size chuchitos from Guatemala, sweet corn-filled ducunus from Belize, a Salvadoran variety that mixes masa with refried beans and many more.
We’re lucky to find nearly all of them here in Southern California, plus inventive options spearheaded by a new generation of chefs who are reclaiming the tamal as a canvas for creativity. Just as prevalent as traditional tamales, these reimagined versions tout local produce and often play on the multicultural backgrounds of their makers.
Tamales — a labor of love often taken for granted — keep generations connected to our ancestral home in Nayarit, Mexico.
Chef Mario Alberto, who grew up preparing corn husks and making masa dough for tamales that his mother would sell every holiday season, thought he wanted nothing more to do with making them. But after offering them last year at his vegetarian restaurant Olivia in Koreatown, Alberto gained new respect for his mother’s craft and decided to commit more fully to carving out his own perspective. Armed with his ancestral skills, Alberto concocted a masa recipe that substituted lard with coconut fat and avocado oil and layered in aromatics such as thyme and turmeric.
Instead of “12 days of Christmas,” make it a dozen days of tamale tasting and dig into specialties that range from plantain-wrapped options drenched in Oaxacan mole to sweet variations filled with macerated strawberries and topped with pistachio crumbles. Ready to complete your holiday and New Year spreads, here are 22 of our favorite tamale makers across Los Angeles and Orange County, spanning bakeries, street vendors, pop-ups and more.
For modern-day chefs who are descendants of Latin American cuisine, room exists for traditional recipes to bend and crack, opening up possibilities for something new and reflective of today’s culture.
Showing Places
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Angry Egret Dinette
Chinatown Mexican American $$
Continuing his annual tradition of tamal making for the masses, chef Wes Avila is reprising his beloved holiday tamales at Angry Egret — for one last time. With multiple new restaurants and projects in the works, the Guerrilla Tacos founder plans to close his casual Chinatown restaurant on Dec. 31, but fans can get a taste until then; and for fans of the tamales, they’re available to preorder. “I think it’s run its course as far as what the purpose was during the time,” said Avila, who first launched Angry Egret as a pop-up that soon went permanent. This year, Avila and his team are offering three varieties of tamales: chicken with mole negro, pork with red salsa and sweet potato with jack cheese, priced at $36 per dozen. To spice things up even further, there’s an add-on side of mole almendrado for topping the tamales at home. Orders are open until Dec. 21, with pickup available Dec. 23 and 24. Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, keep an eye on the restaurant for a la carte tamales available as a walk-up special.
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(Stephanie Breijo / The Los Angeles Times)
Cena Vegan
Lincoln Heights Mexican $$
Each year, just before Thanksgiving, one of L.A.’s top vegan Mexican food operations begins selling tamales a la carte and by the half-dozen — and each year, it sells thousands of them. Cena Vegan, with takeout locations in Lincoln Heights and Long Beach, a weekly pop-up at Smorgasburg on Sundays, and a residency at Whittier Brewing Co., offers two varieties of tamales through the end of December, both pulled from recipes by co-founder Carmen Santillan’s mother and grandmother.
For Santillan’s mom, it was always required that the masa’s corn be freshly ground, and for Santillan, it’s become a necessity at Cena Vegan too. “These recipes are so important to us: That was my inheritance, those recipes, that methodology, that kind of respect and love for food,” she said. The bright chile verde “chicken” version stews tofu strands with a chile verde made from poblano, jalapeño and Anaheim peppers. Santillan’s mother’s favorite was always the rojo, which she filled with beef, but at Cena, they use a soy-protein take on chile Colorado to replicate the meat, simmering it in a deeply flavorful chile sauce, then adding carrots, potatoes and small green olives in a northern Mexico, “Mexicali” style. Each version can be ordered a la carte for $4 or by the half-dozen for $24.
For Santillan’s mom, it was always required that the masa’s corn be freshly ground, and for Santillan, it’s become a necessity at Cena Vegan too. “These recipes are so important to us: That was my inheritance, those recipes, that methodology, that kind of respect and love for food,” she said. The bright chile verde “chicken” version stews tofu strands with a chile verde made from poblano, jalapeño and Anaheim peppers. Santillan’s mother’s favorite was always the rojo, which she filled with beef, but at Cena, they use a soy-protein take on chile Colorado to replicate the meat, simmering it in a deeply flavorful chile sauce, then adding carrots, potatoes and small green olives in a northern Mexico, “Mexicali” style. Each version can be ordered a la carte for $4 or by the half-dozen for $24.
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(Sarah Mosqueda / Los Angeles Times)
Chevita's Juice & Bagels
Santa Ana Juice Bars $
A fresh juice and bagel shop might not seem like a logical place for tamales, until you realize that owner Maria Perez is one of Santa Ana’s O.G. tamale ladies. Perez got her start selling her banana leaf-wrapped tamales on 4th Street and became a fixture on the corner in front of Northgate Gonzalez Market. She opened Chevitas in 2017 in the heart of downtown Santa Ana; it specializes in fresh bagel sandwiches and made-to-order juice, but her tamales are the off-menu item regulars know to order a day in advance. They’re filled with Guerrero-style pork and flavored with spicy but fruity guajillo chilies, and the banana leaf seals in moisture and turns the masa into a smooth, glossy pocket to protect the savory filling. They’re priced at $4 each or $48.43 for a dozen; call ahead to place your order, as they are not a regular menu item.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Comal
Mexican Vegan $$
For most of his life, Andy Zambrano wasn’t allowed to make tamales — that was seen as a woman’s role in his family. He was relegated to other duties around the holidays, until the Kitchen Mouse and Yang’s Kitchen alum began to make a name for himself as a chef. Now running popular plant-based pop-up Comal, Zambrano’s been given access to the family tamale production line and has developed his own vegan take. Instead of chicken or pork, Zambrano’s rojo version is filled with smoked young jackfruit in guajillo salsa, while another tamal incorporates roasted bell pepper, onion, corn and potatoes. For the velvety outer layer, he opts for finer-ground tortilla masa and wraps it in banana leaves. Tamales colados, a strained-dough preparation found in southern Mexico and much of Central America, often calls for broth to loosen the grain; while Zambrano has experimented using his own vegetable broth, this year, he’s wetting his masa with water and olive oil. Each variety is fully vegan and can be ordered by the half-dozen for $35. Orders are open now through Dec. 16 for pickup in Monterey Park from 3 to 8 p.m. Dec. 22, with the address revealed after payment, or on Dec. 23 at Mandarin Coffee in Pasadena, which will also serve as a pop-up event with walk-up tamales available from 8 a.m. to noon, or until Zambrano sells out.
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(Sarah Mosqueda / Los Angeles Times)
El Molino de Oro
San Juan Capistrano Mexican $
What initially lured me into this tortilleria, taqueria and panaderia was its bolillos and jalapeños tortas, which fold melty cheese and spicy slices of jalapeños right into the soft bread, which gets stuffed with refried beans and your choice of fillings, like machaca and egg or chorizo, potato and egg. This quick-service restaurant has a bakery on one side, stocked with pan dulce, piñatas and festive cakes, and cafeteria-style counter service on the other, where you can order a selection of tamales for $2.99 that are hefty and amply filled. Choose from beef, red chicken, green chicken, red pork, green pork, rajas, strawberry and pineapple. Beef is best, with heat that makes you appreciate each bite of masa. If you aren’t getting a dozen or two to take home to the family, order a prepared tamale for $4.25. A tamale of your choice is smothered in diced white onion and cilantro, crunchy shredded lettuce and a generous drizzle of salsa and crema. The toppings don’t overpower the tamale but instead stand up to its girth by lending spice and texture.
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(Lucas Kwan Peterson / Los Angeles Times)
Guatemalteca Bakery and Restaurant
Koreatown Guatemalan Bakery $
If you haven’t tried the Central American chuchito, you’re in for a treat. Chuchitos are a Guatemalan specialty, with cakey masa wrapped in corn husks, typically flavored with tomato and containing some type of meat. The chuchito variation you’ll find at Guatemalteca Bakery and Restaurant, a market and Guatemaltessen on Beverly Boulevard, balances the moist, near-crumbly masa with a nicely saucy chicken. It’s almost like eating a hearty stew. Also make sure to try a pache, a stout, starchy potato-based tamale about the size of a fist. Tamales range from $2.49 to $3.49. Shop for groceries first, then grab a plate.
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(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Guerrilla Tacos
Downtown L.A. Mexican $$
Guerrilla Tacos doesn’t offer tamales on its regular menu, but during the holidays, it offers a kit with all the ingredients (and requiring a fraction of the usual work), with prepared masa and detailed printed instructions, plus a QR code for those who prefer to watch a video. As someone who has enjoyed countless tamales over the years, but never attempted to make them, I found everything incredibly straightforward. The $85 kit comes with enough corn husks, masa and filling for 30 tamales, with your choice of short rib, chicken pibil or roasted veggies with crema. If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, I recommend getting all three options so you can mix and match. Pro tip: Sprinkle cotija cheese crumbles and diced green onions on top of the filling before forming the tamales.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Guisados
West Hollywood Mexican $$
While the temple to tacos owned and operated by Armando De La Torre Sr. and his children garners much of its attention thanks to freshly pressed corn tortillas, Guisados knows its way around tamale masa too. “Even though I want it to be a taco restaurant, tamales are about 20% to 25% of the business,” said co-owner Armando De La Torre Jr. Guisados prepares its masa with both lard and vegetable shortening for a silken, flavorful casing, then stuffs them with variations of its famed braises and salsas. Every location except Boyle Heights serves tamales year round, with four flavors: pork in salsa roja, chicken in salsa verde, rajas with cheese and sweet elote — De La Torre Jr. recommends asking staff to put the latter on the plancha for a bit to caramelize the sweet sugars. Particularly popular with the breakfast crowd is the opportunity to add a fried egg to any tamal. Guisados’ tamales can be ordered hot and a la carte or, for those looking to feed the family, by the dozen cooked and chilled, or raw and frozen to be steamed at home. Those looking to order by the dozen can visit in store or call in orders a day in advance for pickup. (Note: Guisados closes for Christmas from Dec. 24 to 26.)
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(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
La Indiana Tamales
East Los Angeles Mexican $
On my first visit to La Indiana Tamales, I did not intend to order the red beef tamal. Listed on the menu in yellow, like its own category of dish, I missed it. I had my eye on the pork, and the chile and cheese. The man behind me in line kindly suggested I order his favorite, the red beef. He told me he was a regular, so I listened. To whoever you are, I’m eternally grateful. La Indiana Tamales is already home to what could be the most velvety masa in the universe. Its texture is slightly firmer than excellent mashed potatoes, and it tastes of pure corn. I could eat it on its own. But when you dig a fork into the beef tamale, and the red chile sauce and tender shredded beef sort of cream together with the masa, there’s nothing like it. I’m happy to pass along the same tip. Order the red beef tamales.
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(Lucas Kwan Peterson / Los Angeles Times)
La Original Panaderia El Salvador
East Hollywood Salvadoran Bakery $
The people of El Salvador love tamales, and the ones you’ll find in that pulgarcito (“little thumb”) of America, as it’s affectionately called, are primarily those of the wrapped-in-banana-leaf variety. The tamales pisques are probably the best-known Salvadoran contribution, wherein the masa is mixed with refried beans, giving a dense and earthy heartiness to the dish. The ones at La Original Panaderia El Salvador are moist, almost slippery and quite substantial, about the size and volume of a soda can. One can easily make a satisfying meal — not bad for $3.25. There are other varieties there too: Try the chipilín con queso.
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(Cindy Carcamo / Los Angeles Times)
La Poblana Bakery
Bakery $
This is a takeout-only spot just steps from the Orange Circle. Choose your flavor and a worker will steam it as you wait. The tamales are on the smaller side but worth it. I came here for the rajas (roasted peppers) and cheese, which were flavorful with a generous filling, but the beef tamale won me over. The tamale was covered in a zesty red sauce; the meat was plentiful but not overwhelming and well-balanced with perfectly moist masa. The chicken with tomatillo sauce tamale is also worth your attention. Take care to wait a few minutes before consuming because these tamales come out piping hot.
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(James Kei)
La Tamaleria at Mercado Gonzalez Northgate Market
Costa Mesa Mexican $
It’s going to be hard to leave Mercado Gonzalez, the newly opened Costa Mesa food hall from Mexican supermarket chain Northgate Market, with just tamales. The labyrinthine space includes a full grocery store with produce, dried chiles and spices, a bakery, a butcher serving up marinated meats, prepared foods like tortilla chips and salsas, a liquor store stocked with Mexican labels, household items and gifts.
There are more than 20 stalls for enjoying food and drinks on-site or to go, including Mexico City-based El Moro churro stand, and Santa Ana food truck Chiva Torta with Guadalajara-style tortas ahogadas. La Tamaleria is ready to meet your tamale needs year-round with masa bundles that can be ordered fresh or in airtight packages for reheating at home. Fillings for corn husk-wrapped tamales include pork, chicken, beef, jalapeños and cheese, sweet corn, pineapple and strawberry; or opt for banana leaf-wrapped options with chicken and mole or pork rib meat with salsa ranchera. Corn husk tamales are $3 each, a half-dozen for $14 and a dozen for $27, or get a plate with rice and cheesy refried beans for $10. Banana leaf tamales are $5 each. If you’re not in a hurry, order a champurrado, traditional Mexican hot chocolate, or atole, a warm masa-based beverage, and find a seat to take in the live mariachi band that’s likely playing onstage.
There are more than 20 stalls for enjoying food and drinks on-site or to go, including Mexico City-based El Moro churro stand, and Santa Ana food truck Chiva Torta with Guadalajara-style tortas ahogadas. La Tamaleria is ready to meet your tamale needs year-round with masa bundles that can be ordered fresh or in airtight packages for reheating at home. Fillings for corn husk-wrapped tamales include pork, chicken, beef, jalapeños and cheese, sweet corn, pineapple and strawberry; or opt for banana leaf-wrapped options with chicken and mole or pork rib meat with salsa ranchera. Corn husk tamales are $3 each, a half-dozen for $14 and a dozen for $27, or get a plate with rice and cheesy refried beans for $10. Banana leaf tamales are $5 each. If you’re not in a hurry, order a champurrado, traditional Mexican hot chocolate, or atole, a warm masa-based beverage, and find a seat to take in the live mariachi band that’s likely playing onstage.
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(Cindy Carcamo / Los Angeles Times)
Las Brisas de Apatzingan
Santa Ana Mexican
There’s only one kind of tamale here but it’s definitely worth the visit. This diner serves up uchepos, sweet corn tamales that are a specialty of Michoacán. Made with fresh corn and filled with whole kernels scattered throughout, this tamale doesn’t need additional filling. It’s good to eat by itself, but it really shines with all the fixings. Dress it up in green tomatillo salsa, crema and cheese. The crema lends an extra creaminess to the sweet masa and helps cut the zestiness of the tomatillo sauce.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Marcella's Tamales
Koreatown Mexican $
Marcella (who goes only by her first name) is a tamal artist, with no set menu but rather a selection of weekly tamales that might include tender masa encasing bouncy queso and a single strip of jalapeño; shredded chicken with salsa verde or a sauce of tomatoes, guajillo and arbol chiles; or rajas with onion and chicken. Sometimes her masa flecked with chipil, a green leafy herb that grows wild in the Oaxaca countryside, is a plain ingot wrapped in corn husk; other times it is filled with an inky black bean puree, wrapped in plantain leaves. “Tambien elotes,” she says, sweet corn tamales, when you’re lucky.
Find her cart on the corner of 8th and Normandie, next door to Jons market in the heart of Oaxacan Koreatown, where she sets up underneath a rainbow umbrella from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays.
Find her cart on the corner of 8th and Normandie, next door to Jons market in the heart of Oaxacan Koreatown, where she sets up underneath a rainbow umbrella from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays.
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(Cindy Carcamo / Los Angeles Times)
Mi Guate Bella Restaurante
Anaheim Guatemalan $$
You’ll have to make your way past the deafening music and blinking knickknacks to get to this diner, tucked away in the Anaheim Marketplace, the largest indoor swap meet in Orange County. It’s best to come during the week to avoid the crowds. But once you arrive, you’re met with a cozy restaurant where traditional Guatemalan fare is served. Guatemalan tamales are usually large and pillow-like thanks to the long nixtamalization process to make the dough, which requires more water than some Mexican tamales. The tamales you’ll find here are on the smaller side, but the dough is still moist, melting beautifully in your mouth. I especially enjoy the balanced ratio of meat to masa in these tamales. The standout is the pork tamale, with a healthy portion of meat in red sauce and bell peppers nestled in moist masa served on a banana leaf. Of course, there’s the requisite slice of sandwich bread and a lime wedge. I usually skip the bread. Just squeeze a bit of lime on the tamale and dig in. The restaurant also fulfills bulk tamale orders with advance notice.
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(Lucas Kwan Peterson / Los Angeles Times)
Mi Ranchito Veracruz
Sun Valley Mexican $
Veracruz, that long, elegantly shaped state that runs up the eastern flank of Mexico, right on the gulf, can claim a killer gastronomical tradition (Salma Hayek is also from there, if that’s something that happens to interest you). The restaurant Mi Ranchito Veracruz, not too far from the Wat Thai temple in North Hollywood, makes a soft, succulent banana leaf-wrapped tamale that rivals the best of them. They arrive wrapped in a rectangular pouch, like an envelope stuffed full of cash, and they’re nearly as exciting to open. I particuarly liked the rajas con queso, with tender masa broken up by long strips of pepper and dotted with the occasional chunk of chewy cheese. There are also tamales wrapped with hoja de mazora, if you’re more of a corn husk person. Don’t forget to get the (quite piquant) red and green salsas to accompany your order.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Olivia
Koreatown Vegan $$
Mario Alberto makes what are most likely the best vegan tamales around. “My mom sold tamales when I was a kid, and she forced me into cleaning corn husks and making masa,” he says. “I was fed up with them.” But when Alberto, who was previously chef at Gracias Madre (as well as Laurel Hardware — and you might remember his stellar Peruvian spot Chimu at Grand Central Market), started making them for the holidays at the West Hollywood vegetarian restaurant, “That’s when I realized it was something very intricate, and I was put in a position to be present in making the tamales. We sold 500 dozen, a wall of boxes of tamales.”
At his vegetarian restaurant Olivia in Koreatown, Alberto is filling tamales with chickpeas; jackfruit marinated in tomato chipotle puree and braised for several hours, then dehydrated; and green salsa with pasilla. Another option: mushrooms and eggplant with chile morita. He makes the masa with coconut fat and avocado oil instead of lard and infuses it with aromatics such as thyme, turmeric or rosemary. “Personally, I love the flavor of yellow masa but texturally prefer masa quebrada, the way it’s ground,” Alberto says. “What I like about it is it fluffs up a lot better.”
Order by Dec. 17 for pickup on Dec. 22 or Dec. 23.
At his vegetarian restaurant Olivia in Koreatown, Alberto is filling tamales with chickpeas; jackfruit marinated in tomato chipotle puree and braised for several hours, then dehydrated; and green salsa with pasilla. Another option: mushrooms and eggplant with chile morita. He makes the masa with coconut fat and avocado oil instead of lard and infuses it with aromatics such as thyme, turmeric or rosemary. “Personally, I love the flavor of yellow masa but texturally prefer masa quebrada, the way it’s ground,” Alberto says. “What I like about it is it fluffs up a lot better.”
Order by Dec. 17 for pickup on Dec. 22 or Dec. 23.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Olmeca
Cypress Park Tamales $$
Since October, Yunia Funes Mata’s tamales cart Olmeca has been posted on Saturdays in front of Golden Poppy Market in Cypress Park. Her tamales are a rotating roster of creativity, including A la Bestia, filled with duck mole; El de Costillas with braised shortribs; and A que no te Rajas with queso, rajas and salsa guajillo. Her fresa tamal is filled with macerated strawberries and topped with crema, pistachios and flaky sea salt.
“My masa is unique, it’s very flavorful,” says Mata, who has worked at Bestia and Barra Santos in L.A., but grew up in Washington, D.C., and learned to make tamales from her Salvadoran “aunt,” a good friend of her Mexican mother. “These aren’t Mexican tamales, they aren’t Central American. They’re a mix.” She makes distinctive masa uniquely suited to each type of tamal, adding consommé to the masa for birria, salsa verde for the carnitas. “Every stock [for masa] is catered to the filling. That’s the beautiful thing about masa.”
Pre-order for Christmas for pick-up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 22 or Dec. 23. For New Year’s Eve; pickup is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 30.
“My masa is unique, it’s very flavorful,” says Mata, who has worked at Bestia and Barra Santos in L.A., but grew up in Washington, D.C., and learned to make tamales from her Salvadoran “aunt,” a good friend of her Mexican mother. “These aren’t Mexican tamales, they aren’t Central American. They’re a mix.” She makes distinctive masa uniquely suited to each type of tamal, adding consommé to the masa for birria, salsa verde for the carnitas. “Every stock [for masa] is catered to the filling. That’s the beautiful thing about masa.”
Pre-order for Christmas for pick-up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 22 or Dec. 23. For New Year’s Eve; pickup is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 30.
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(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Sabores Oaxaqueños
Koreatown Oaxacan $$
This Oaxacan restaurant on the 2023 101 best restaurants list occupies the colorful storefront that housed Guelaguetza’s original location, where current chef Dominga Rodriguez also previously worked. The banana leaf-wrapped tamales are the perfect spongy yet sturdy consistency, with your choice of shredded chicken, beans or chiles inside. While the restaurant takes online orders, be sure to call directly if you’re looking to stock up on tamales for the holidays or otherwise. And get a pint of Rodriguez’s rich and earthy mole negro to pour on top of your tamales before serving.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Sandra's Tamales
East Los Angeles Mexican $
Sandra’s Tamales, the walk-up counter shop in East Los Angeles, always smells of sweet corn. There’s a perpetual line, but it moves quickly. Don’t come too late, though, or you’ll be met with a handwritten sign letting you know the place is out of tamales. The masa encasing the tamale’s filling is super smooth here, almost creamy in your mouth with a clear corn flavor. The red pork is super saucy and savory, with a filling like rich stew. If I had to choose a single favorite, it would be the green chili and cheese. The cheese spills out of the masa, mingling with the green chile sauce into a gooey, melty blob that hums with a mild heat.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Saucy Chick Goat Mafia
East Pasadena Indian Mexican $$
For creative spins on the typical tamal, one of L.A.’s best two-in-one restaurants has you covered. At Saucy Chick and Goat Mafia, which recently opened under one roof in East Pasadena, there are two varieties of tamal kits on offer, one from each restaurant. Indian and Mexican rotisserie Saucy Chick stuffs its tamal with husband-and-wife team Marcel Michel and Rhea Patel Michel’s lauded chicken pibil, then tops it with their side of “Mom’s Beans,” crema, cilantro and “GG” (green and garlicky) sauce at $41 per half-dozen and $82 per dozen. At Goat Mafia, where fourth-generation birriero Juan Garcia makes some of the best stewed chivo in the city, he’s offering a tamal with birria, consomé, crema and cilantro at $30 per half-dozen and $60 per dozen. “They’re a little bit nontraditional in the sense that you typically don’t see birria or pibil in tamales,” said Marcel Michel, “so it’s kind of a unique twist on what we’re highlighting in both of our kitchens.” Orders for at-home tamales should be placed by Dec. 19 for both restaurants, with pickup available through Dec. 23. For those who want to taste the plated tamales, find them ready to eat at both restaurants’ booths at Smorgasburg in the Arts District on Dec. 17.
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(Sarah Mosqueda / Los Angeles Times)
Tamaleria Rincon Sinaloense
Mexican $
Tamaleria Rincon Sinaloense opened in 2018 and has churned out a variety of tamales daily ever since. Each morning, steam perfumed with the smell of cooked corn fills the small shop in a strip mall in Orange. Don’t be fooled by the small size of these masa tamales. The slippery parchment wrapped tightly around each corn-husked treasure is an indication of the fat content used and a precursor to the soft tamale within. A combo plate features two tamales of your choice, plus red or green salsa and rice and beans. The menu includes savory selections like pork rojo, spicy cheese, beef rojo, chicken verde and three sweet options. Sweet corn and strawberry sell out quickly. Pineapple, on the other hand, is often overlooked since most piña tamales don’t have the delicate and complex flavor that Tamaleria Rincon Sinaloense has mastered. Brown sugar and warm spice with acidic pineapple evoke warm cider, making it a perfect choice for the holidays. An individual tamale is $3, or $36 for a dozen. Holiday pre-orders should be placed in-person by Dec. 15 for pickup on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
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