Today, at her bricks-and-mortar, which “reimagines” traditional Mexican cuisine, Castro makes a dessert tamal — the carrot cake tamal. “Tamales are pure comfort,” she wrote in an email.

Last year, a tamale shop called Los Hernandez about two and a half hours southeast of here took home a James Beard Award… and I know that’s far, but their tamales are worth it. In town, there are a ...