Delia's Specializing in Tamales

Reviews

• ★★★★½ Pork Tamales Bean & Cream Cheese Tamales Chicken Tamales Bean Cheese & Jalapeno Tamales Visited Mar 26, 2022

  Some Of The Best Tamales I've Had, But Not Quite "The Best"

  When the original location opened, it received a lot of media attention, with people calling the tamales the best in the city. Lines of cars would wrap around the building, and they were selling out daily. My family bought them twice during that period and eventually decided to have them for Thanksgiving that year.
  
  I've tried several of the flavors they offer, including the bean and cheese, which is made with cream cheese, along with the chicken and pork. They have a good selection, and the tamales are served fresh and hot. The masa-to-filling ratio is roughly 60/40. Some places use a lot more masa to make the tamales larger, but in doing so, I feel like they sacrifice some of the flavor of the filling. While Delia's tamales aren't the largest, I think the ratio here works well and allows the flavor of the filling to come through better.
  
  The pork and chicken tamales do a good job of letting the flavor of the meat come through in each bite. The bean and cheese tamales, on the other hand, are noticeably less flavorful. In fact, they're almost only identifiable as bean and cheese because they're the least flavorful of the varieties I've tried. The beans themselves are fairly mild, and there's also a relatively small amount of the bean-and-cheese filling in the tamales, so neither flavor really stands out. Of the varieties I've tried here, the bean and cheese are definitely my least favorite.
  
  The tamales are served with both a red salsa and a creamy green salsa. Both work well with the tamales, although I especially like the green with the chicken.
  
  I do think the fact that these tamales aren't as oily as others I've had may contribute to them being a little less moist than some of my favorites. The most flavorful and moist tamales I've had have generally been a little oilier, so there may be a trade-off there. Delia's aren't dry, but they don't have quite the same level of moisture I've found at other places.
  
  These are very good tamales and rank among the better ones I've had. They have a good balance of flavor, moisture, and filling, but I wouldn't say they're the absolute best in any one category. I've had tamales that are more moist, more flavorful, or packed with even more filling, but Delia's does a good job of bringing all of those qualities together into a solid overall tamale.

  — Paul