Henry Riojas has been making salsa in Houston for decades. A couple of years ago, he relocated his Tejano Salsa and Tamales company from the West Park Tollway frontage road to South Post Oak in Meyerland. The new location makes salsas, tamales and chips.

Since the tamale factory opens for retail sales at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday (Saturday at 9 a.m.), some customers wanted to sit down and eat breakfast. So Henry put a few tables in the front of the factory. I sat down in the breakfast nook and sampled six tamales this morning.

The pork and spicy pork are the only two tamales in the extensive menu made with real manteca—they were excellent. The chicken tamales are made with vegetable shortening; the spicy chicken has some hot green sauce added. Both were moist and tasty. But my unexpected favorite was the beef tamale, made with lots of well-seasoned juicy chuck. 

Handmade Tamales & More
10421 S Post Oak
832 877 8227

The little breakfast room has became so popular that Riojas is giving the restaurant a name and offering more dishes with the help of his old friend "Chef Santiago," the former proprietor of Piatto de Santi Italian Grill on Bissonnet. The restaurant on South Post Oak near W. Bellfort will be called Handmade Tamales & More when it opens later this month.

Sneak Preview: On Monday, October 7, from 2 to 6 p.m. the as-yet-unopened restaurant will hold a "Grand Tasting." Free samples of 14 different varieties of tamales (including five vegetarian styles), salsas, and some surprise dishes from Chef Santiago will be available.

The restaurant isn't open yet, but the tamale factory is: Henry Riojas hopes the tasting will create new customers for the holiday tamale season. A dozen handmade tamales (all of the same variety) sell for $12.