I LOVE to travel and because of this I have been fortunate to visit many great places. My main love of travel is for two reasons: A) for the scenery/architecture and B) for the culture/food.
In my travels I've had the privilege of visiting Guatemala twice. I was blessed to have home-cooked meals by locals all throughout the city. Prior to visiting Guatemala I had no idea there were so many variations of Latin foods between Central-American cultures and it was there I had an eye-opening experience with tamales. Guatemalans make their tamales a lot different than the Mexican style tamales I was familiar with eating most of my life. Their tamales were a lot fatter and far moister than Mexican tamales and the masa is softer. I instantly fell in love with the difference, especially after having eaten many overcooked & hard Mexican tamales in my lifetime. So you can't imagine how delighted I was to discover the Salvadoran tamales here @ Star Bakery are similar to Guatemalan tamales.
[ THE FOOD ]
After my first taste I returned 3 days in a row because I just couldn't get enough of the amazing flavor! Moist, fluffy, flavorful masa wrapped around juicy & oh so tender chicken. The ladies here truly have magic in their fingers, because it's not just the softness of the masa. I hear chicken bouillon is traditional in seasoning the cornmeal used to make the masa, which would explain why it had such a satisfying aftertaste.
I also enjoy their Carne Guisada and delicious Fresas con Crema, but was not a fan of the Baleadas. Something about it tasted sour, almost spoiled. My favorite combination is an order of their Corn Tamales paired with the Grilled Steak next door @ Villino's. I ate them together as if they were steak tamales. The two flavors combined are enough to inspire an epic happy dance!
On my latest visit I tried the Pupusas after two other customers in line convinced me I needed this in my life. They both recommended the Chicharron con Queso but I was more interested in the Cameron con Queso, so I ordered one of each. Both were great, but that dang Chicharron was AHHHH-mazing and exploded with flavor! They were absolutely right!
* Elote Tamales (5 stars)
* Pollo Tamales (5 stars)
* Carne Guisada (4.5 stars)
* Fresas con Crema (5 stars)
* Baleadas (1 star) I think I just got a bad one!
* Cameron con Queso (4.5 stars)
* Chicharron con Queso (5 stars)
[ FINAL THOUGHT ]
Take a drive to Plaza Las Americas, casually meander to the food court in the rear and treat yourself to some of the best chicken tamales north of Central America. But don't be in too much of a rush because they take a little time to prepare. If you've ever traveled South of Mexico and sampled these amazing tamales, I think you will agree with me on their authenticity and deliciousness. BUEN PROVECHO!
2022 / 82 read more