This should be an annual "must attend". Next year we will go early on Saturday before the vendors start running out of some of their wares.
Nana Chuy's won a trophy in competition this year. We shared one beef/pork combo and one chicken tamale. They were well-made and tasty, but a little smaller and more of a high-volume consistency.
At Tia Juana's we tried out a shrimp tamale (small baja shrimp, extra spicy) and a chorizo tamale. Tom is not always a chorizo fan, thinking it "too greasy", but these were done with small potato cubes which moderated that. We bought a half-dozen more to take with us.
And by the way, why were we never informed about all the flavors of desert tamales?
The festival is more than just food. Traditional dancers, music venues, a carnival.
Vintage cars.
The larger, more commercial stands did not offer samples. Many of the smaller ones did, leading us to take home a couple of chicken in red sauce from this local establishment.
"Gourmet" tamales. We took a couple of Barbecue chicken home which we tried out Sunday evening. A little heavy on the masa and light on the filling. Yes, I could be a tamale snob. We have one each of the dessert tamales still in the freezer. I'll let you know how those are.
And for those who have eaten too many tamales there is one more booth on your way out.
