Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).
Walking into Tamales by La Casita’s small space, it’s easy to miss how much work is going on behind the swinging kitchen doors.
That’s where seven women work tirelessly, making 18,000 tamales from scratch every day between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., and then steaming them in custom-designed steamers. The restaurant, which has been serving some of Denver’s (and my personal) favorite tamales for nearly 50 years, sources its corn husks directly from Mexico and uses 900 pounds of pork and 40 pounds of cheese daily to make its signature dish.
Paul Sandoval, a Colorado state senator in the 1970s and ’80s, started making tamales in 1974. That enterprise would later turn into Tamales by La Casita, which is now owned by his wife Paula.
Sandoval, a Denver native, was inspired by a childhood spent with kitchen counters littered with different stages of the tamale-making process with his family. Tamales are a Mexican tradition made for spiritual celebrations, especially Christmas.
“Paul passed away 11 years ago,” Paula said. “When a key person is gone, sometimes a small business falls apart, but we feel good about how we’ve been able to keep up with the quality, taste and consistency of his tamale recipes.”
When I get excited for the start of the season of red and green, I think tamales, not Christmas. I stumbled upon Tamales by La Casita earlier this fall while hunting for the best green chile in town, and was immediately taken by the craftsmanship and flavor that’s stuffed into the corn husks.
People travel near and far to stock up on Tamales by La Casita’s green chile and cheese ($18 per dozen) or classic red chile and pork ($16.90 per dozen) tamales. That’s why it’s one of the first (or last) stops for Denver visitors, who can also get Las Casita’s tamales in Denver International Airport’s Concourse C. Paula said nine years ago, a couple from Las Vegas flew in just to get tamales from the Highland restaurant before flying back the same day.
During Christmas, Paula said customers will order as many as 10 dozen red and green tamales at a time for their family gatherings. The restaurant also wholesales its tamales to grocery stores and restaurants in town. Every Christmas, the restaurant offers customers a calendar with their orders, and Paula still gets calls from out-of-state guests asking her to mail one for their collection.
“The best tamales are the ones you make yourself,” Paula said, “but if you can’t make them at home for whatever reason, I hope ours are your next choice.”
And be prepared: Everything is first come first serve, Sandoval said, but most loyal customers know to get them early and pop them in the freezer.
3561 Tejon St., Denver; tamalesbylacasita.net. Open Mon.-Fri. from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Sundays.
