Atascadero's 10th Annual Tamale Festival Went Above and Beyond for Businesses and Visitors

Atascadero's 10th Annual Tamale Festival was a hit this year, featuring more than 20 tamale vendors, live music and tamale-eating contests. Locals and visitors alike gathered at Atascadero City Hall and the Sunken Gardens to celebrate and support their favorite tamale businesses. Some attendees traveled from as far away as the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles.

Families enjoyed a variety of activities, including bounce houses and bungee jump attractions, while sampling tamales from vendors across California. Festivalgoers also had the opportunity to compete in tamale-eating contests for trophies and ribbons. The contests were divided into two age groups: 11 and younger and 12 and older.

Aden Nuñez won first place, and Jaylee Elvira Silva took second place in the 11-and-younger division. In the 12-and-older division, Anthony Elisarras earned first place, while Addisyn Masallo finished second.

Adults and children weren't the only ones competing. Tamale vendors entered their creations in several categories, including best traditional tamale, best gourmet tamale and overall best tamale.

Mary's Cuisine Catering of San Luis Obispo won both the overall best tamale and best gourmet tamale awards. Other winners in the gourmet category included Savina's Homemade Tamales of Santa Maria, which placed second, and Beth's Tamales of Santa Maria, which placed third.

La Luz del Mundo of Victorville won the award for best traditional tamale. Mary's Cuisine Catering finished second in the category, while La Luz del Mundo of Madera placed third.

We made several stops at tamale booths to sample pork tamales and rajas con queso tamales in search of the festival's best offering. Vendors were selected at random; some displayed award trophies while others did not.

Our pick for best overall tamale was The Original Tamale Co.'s pork tamale with red salsa. It featured a balanced masa-to-meat ratio and light, fluffy masa. The pork delivered a rich, smoky flavor that complemented the masa perfectly.

Other vendors we sampled included award-winning La Luz del Mundo, whose rajas con queso tamale was generously filled with cheese and jalapeños. However, the masa was slightly overcooked and somewhat dry. We also tried Super Tamales, a food truck based in San Jose. Its pork tamale featured flavorful pork filling, and the red salsa served on top enhanced the dish.

Finally, we sampled a pork tamale with red salsa from Tamales Bañados y Michoacanos. Unfortunately, it was our least favorite of the group. The tamale was cold, firm and lacked flavor.

Beyond tamales, the festival featured vendors selling coffee, aguas frescas, esquites and souvenirs. The Atascadero Zoo also operated a booth selling alcoholic beverage tickets, with proceeds benefiting the zoo.

The festival offered a fun-filled day of food, music and family-friendly entertainment. We recommend attending next year's Tamale Festival, scheduled for April 30 and May 1. Be sure to sample a variety of vendors and decide for yourself which tamale deserves the title of favorite.