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Paul Galvani photo
Rick Elder is the Tamale Man. His truck has been parked in virtually the same location, give or take a mile or two, on FM 2351 (just west of Beamer) in Friendswood for more than 35 years. His sons — Allen, Eric and Jay — have been running the business since 2009.
Allen Elder is ready to serve customers.: Paul Galvani photo
“We all used to help out growing up,” Allen Elder said, “so we pretty much knew what to do.” That was good news to the generations who have grown up eating the family’s tamales.
It’s hard to miss the truck. Both sides proclaim “Hot Tamales.” No fancy graphics, no Twitter feeds, no advertising, just good, hot tamales.
Generally, there’s also a line.
“At holiday times, there are four of us working the truck, handing out tamales as fast as we can,” Allen Elder said.
A tamale with sauce.: Paul Galvani photo
The tamales, which come six to a packet, are very well insulated, which helps to keep them hot. The first layer is two natural corn husks, which surround each tamale. Next, some wax paper, which does an excellent job of holding in the moisture and retaining the heat. This is followed by a sheet of silver foil and, finally, each packet of tamales is put into a brown paper bag, ensuring an added level of insulation.
The menu is brief.: Paul Galvani photo
The Elders sell only three types of tamales: pork, spicy pork and chicken. All have a nice filling-to-masa ratio.
Admittedly, the family has been slow to add to the menu. However, the brothers now serve Chile Con Queso, nachos, guacamole and red and green salsas, the latter of which is fiery, but in a very good way.
“We keep a lot of these salsas in stock because we have some people that come from far away that buy 30 at a time to take back with them,” Allen Elder said. Both the salsas are quite smooth and not chunky.
The family is working on a second truck, which will soon hit the street. “We want to assure our customers, though,” Elder said, “that we’re not going to move the original truck, or change anything on it. We’re just going to build a second one to bring to Houston. We are thinking about expanding the offerings on the second truck to include bean tamales and spinach tamales, since we get a lot of requests.”
The Tamale Man truck is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.
Paul Galvani is the author of the upcoming guide Houston's Top 100 Food Trucks.
Is tht 7.00 for half a dozen? That is kind of pricey.
No, it is $7 for a dozen spicy tamales.
its a full dozen..
$7 for a dozen $3.50 for half dozen
Kind of pricey? That's VERY pricey for half a dozen of the small tamales!
Why is the title say "TRUCK STOP: HOT TAMALES IN PEARLAND" when it is clearly in Friendswood?
Read it again. Your eyes are failing you...
@Bill - :-)
I've bought tamales at this truck for years, and they have always been really good. Six for dinner tonite, six for tomorrow, and a dozen for the freezer. And yes, they sometimes have a line, but the fare is well worth the wait.
Excellent tamales. Been going there since they started.
That is 7.00 a dozen!!! These are the best tamales we have ever eaten....have been a customer of Elders for at least 15 years.
Wouldn't buy them any place else. Buy dozens at a time and freeze them. I never want to run out!
The price is $7 per dozen and they are very good. The chile con queso alone is worth the drive out there. Love their green sauce as well.
These are, by far, the best tamales I have ever eaten. I think I will go tomorrow to get some more!
I like how the author of the article describes how they wrap up the tamales like it's some new fandangled way of wrapping them.
Every decent place that sells tamales do it this way.
When I read that, I was thinking the same thing.
If they are close to the ones that my Mother and Grandmother made, the price is cheap and worth the drive. We will see. Now my Grandmother was a bit cheap on the meat side. Mom filled them with meat, and we had bean ones and sugar and raisen ones. And of course no Crisco. Lard. I know that might kill you, but we one had them at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The article could use a bit more depth. How about some history of the family and how they got started? Have they always been at that location? Secret recipe passed down through the generations? This type of information will make the article (and the forthcoming guide) less mundane.
How about a better location, "just west" of Beamer is pretty vague....
If you knew that area you would realize that "just west" is very clear because there isn't much just west of Beamer. It is a very large truck parked next to 2351...you can't miss it. This truck is AWESOME. If you want them for Christmas show up early and be prepared to wait in line. The queso is VERY good. We have been going there since 1989 when the neighborhood behind Clear Brook was being built. I highly recommend this truck!
We have been buying his tamales for 30 years. Have always loved the queso and chips. At Christmas it's not unusual to wait in line for over an hour for tamales. And as far as the price, I think it's a bargin for the quality. I've bought other tamales from our janitorial staff and they aren't nearly as good and they are the same price.
Cooking in a tank top? please.
those are machine made tamales from Alamo, ya'll do know that don't you.
I can assure anyone wanting to try them, they are out of this world good.The holiday line is long but worth it. Rain? bring an umbrella or lose you place in line. They are that good!
This is the BEST place to get tamales in the whole state. We get a dozen mild and a dozen hot and another set for the freezer. And usually we break into them before we even get home. I've even shipped a dozen or so to a displaced Texan in Florida who was jonesing for good tamales. Don't worry about the "vague" directions. He parks right next to the road and with a white truck/red letters, you can't miss him, one side of the road has the truck, the other is a big field with nothing in it to look at. Friendswood is lucky to have them here.
Hey Y'all-
Seven bucks for a doz of real tamales is a steal, no matter if Texas wages are bad . . .
hope these guys are paying the Mexican ladies making them a decent salary . . .
the farther west you go the higher (and bigger, but not better) the prices become.
Provecho!