Dine and Dish: Tamale Mama in downtown Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tamale Mama loads you up with more than just tamales at Tulare and E Street in the Chinatown area of downtown Fresno.

Customers line up for something different.

The traditional Mexican soup pozole is made with hominy. It goes over the tamale in the non-traditional pairing.

"People see it and then they come to ask for tamazole maybe once in a while, but now, this is going like crazy," says Cristina Leon.

A year ago, Leon was selling food from home. Her son, Ruben Vasquez, shared videos of her tamazole on TikTok.

"We had a couple of videos go viral about it and now almost every person or every other person who comes here, comes for that," he said.

The masa stays moist because it is sitting in stew.

Tamale Mama opened the restaurant in January.

Leon is pleased people enjoy what's on the menu.

"Sometimes, I feel I'm going to cry," she said. "It's very good. It's a blessing. My son made my dream come true because he was pushing me."

Cristina likes to go big.

The massive burrito has rice and beans, a tamale plus chicharron with salsa verde. It's all wrapped into a tortilla before it is grilled.

I was full after eating half a burrito.

Tamale Mama also offers refreshing drinks.

Cristina and staff offer three types of tamales - pork, green chicken and jalapeno with cheese.

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