These tamales are like nothing you’ve ever tasted

Smothered tamale from Tamales Inc. | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an East Idaho Eats encore. This article was originally published on Dec. 20, 2024.

IDAHO FALLS – Ricco Lanauze is the owner of Tamales Inc. and has a new take on tamales.

“We wanted to create something different,” Lanauze said. “We wanted to do something nobody else has done.”

Smothered tamale | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

Their tamales are smothered and loaded with rice, red salsa, salsa verde, cheese sauce, onions, sour cream, guacamole, parsley and topped with Takis. They burst with flavor in a way regular tamales don’t.

The main meats they use are pork, chicken, and beef. EastIdahoNews.com tried the chicken and beef tamales. They are all slow-cooked overnight and shredded.

The tamales are a labor of love. It takes at least seven hours to make one batch of tamales.

Lanauze says they experimented a lot to make these tamales, and people seem to like it.

We also tried the crazy corn in a cup with mayonnaise, sour cream, tajin, lime, corn and their special blend of cheese and spices. The warm and flavorful corn is savory and has a kick. For an even bigger kick, customers can choose a higher spice level.

Crazy corn in a cup from Tamales Inc. | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

Tamales Inc. also has frozen horchata, which can be regular flavored or with strawberry. They are perfectly sweet, thick and icy.

Frozen horchata | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

Lanauze says they even take requests. If you have a menu idea, message Tamales Inc. on Facebook or Instagram.

Tamales Inc. is located at 475 Park Avenue, Idaho Falls. It’s open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tamales Inc. | Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com

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