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(Fresas)
It isn't Christmas without tamales and Austin has one of the top-ranked eateries for the warmly wrapped goods.
Here are the best places in Austin to satisfy your tamale craving.
El Sunzal Restaurant, 642 Calles St.
Ranked in the top 25 best tamale restaurants in Texas, El Sunzal was the only Austin restaurant to make the list. If you're stopping by the restaurant, you can get other Mexican and Salvadoran food from huevos rancheros to migas.
Fresa’s South First, 1703 South 1st St.
This month, Fresa’s is offering holiday tamales, which feature tamale meals, by the dozen and special desserts. They are taking pre-orders until Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. Pickups are available Dec. 22-24 at its South 1st Street location. Tamales can be ordered online at fresaschicken.com or by phone at 512-915-0362.
Delicious Tamales, 1931 East Oltorf St.
Get ready for 13 flavors of authentic, handmade tamales ready to unwrap this winter season at San Antonio-based Delicious Tamales. They opened their first Austin location on Dec. 13 and will continue to serve tamales all year long. Customers can order in person, both ready to serve or frozen to reheat later.
Lick It Up, multiple locations
This plant-based Mexican food truck opened in August of 2020 and is offering holiday tamales this season. Customers can choose from red chile, green chile with cheese and black bean with cheese. Tamales are available for pick up until Dec. 22 at either their South or East Austin location between 5-8 p.m. You can order online here.
Tamale Addiction, 114 East Parsons St.
Another great palace to satisfy your itch for tamales, Tamale Addiction offers organic options for tamales which include vegan and vegetarian choices. They also serve meat, banana leaf and dessert tamales. For this winter season, tamales are only available by walk-in only and the shop is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Except this week, they are off for Christmas Eve.)
Tamale House East, 1707 East 6th St.
One of the top tamale places in Austin, Tamale House East has seating both indoors and outdoors and a sizable amount of food to choose from. For this holiday season, they are offering holiday tamale specials which include six-pack pork, chicken, or bean, cheese and jalapeno tamales with sauce, each for $30. Currently, they are only open Friday through Sunday.
Rosie’s Tamale House, 3436 State Highway 71
This family-run joint sits in Bee Cave and offers a simple Mexican and American food experience. Rosie’s Tamale House, which has been owned and operated by the Arriaga family since 1973, offers their famous gluten-free tamales at a half-dozen order for $7.25 or their pint of beans famous tamale for $4.25. Customers can order online here.
J’s Shaved Ice / Tamales, 1716 East Slaughter Lane
Typically a shaved ice shop, J’s is bringing back their tamales for a limited time. They have tons of tamales to choose from, ranging from spicy pork to cheese ruckus to vegetarian. Tamales are made fresh every day and can be ordered either online or by phone at 512-470-5628.
Popular
- San Marcos favorite Industry Burger opens "mid-October" on E. 5th, featuring "low key healthy" Texas fare.
- Still Austin Whiskey Co. introduces "The Artist," its new rye whiskey.
- Domain NORTHSIDE favorites Bakery Lorraine, Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Jeni's Ice Cream and Sprinkles released their fall flavors.
- Cinnaholic at The Arboretum opens Friday, October 14, serving "create your own" cinnamon rolls and other sweet treats.
- San Francisco's Marufuku Ramen opens next Wednesday, October 12, in the Mueller District.
- Carpenter Hotel announces its popup food truck, Lil Carpenter, open Fri-Sun both ACL weekends, serving what you want, early to late, coffee to donuts, to dogs/burgers/fries/beer.
(AUS airport/Instagram)
With major entertainment events slated for October, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is gearing up for a busy month.
Artists and music lovers are set to pack into Zilker Park for The Austin City Limits Music Festival in the coming two weekends. Following that, Formula One will bring racing fans to the Circuit of the Americas.
For those two events, the airport is anticipating high passenger days with 30,000 or more people departing flights.
ABIA recommends arriving at least two and a half hours in advance for domestic flights on those days. For ACL, it's expected on both Sundays of the festival along with the Monday and Tuesday after. The F1-driven high passenger days are expected on Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 23-26.
\u201c#AustinCityLimits visitors, you\u2019re in for a weird and wild ride \ud83e\udd18\u262e\ufe0f \n\nFlying in or out of our airport? We got firm and fun tips for you: https://t.co/RawVRalOXN\u201d— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)) 1664894083
F1, especially, could draw in loads of travelers as the three-day event saw 400,000 attendees last year. ABIA warns that highways leading to the airport may see even higher traffic than usual around the event and that travelers should plan their route accordingly.
Bailey Grimmett, a spokesperson for ABIA, said travel numbers come in 24 hours in advance. So, it's hard to predict if the airport will see travel volumes at the same levels that have happened around previous F1 races or if it'll top ACL's flight traffic.
Still, she says historical knowledge points to a chance for it.
“We've had that Monday after F1 break the record for single busiest in airport history," Grimmett said. "So context clues I would say yes, but I can't confirm that. But the historical background points to that."
In anticipation of the high volume of flyers, the airport received additional TSA officers for security screening through the end of October. To prepare even further, the Department of Aviation and partners hosted a job showcase and hiring fair to address the continued labor shortage the airport has experienced.
Relief from hectic travel days is on the horizon with November likely to see a slowdown.
"I don't anticipate it will be as busy as October just because we don't have as many events going on," Grimmett said. "Thanksgiving is kind of our primary holiday that we see a lot of passengers coming in and out of the airport."
