It's tamale time!

It's that time of the year, where tamale making is in full swing and if you haven't put your order in for yours, you might have an option.

I decided to give the El Pollo Loco tamale plate a try recently and was actually pleasantly surprised with the taste.

Now, I'm not giving up convincing my mother every year right before Christmas to make tamales from scratch, (she makes great tamales), but if I was looking for a quick tamale fix, then I wouldn't hesitate to head to Pollo Loco.

First, they do have chicken tamales on their regular menu, but the tamale plate consists of two chicken tamales, chopped slightly to expose the tender, moist chicken inside the corn masa, topped with a red chile sauce and Jack and cheddar cheeses, and a side of beans and rice.

I thought it was odd that they cut the tamales in pieces before giving it to you but I figured after I took my first bite that it just helps to spread the chile sauce and cheese all inside the tamales as well as outside.

The colorado chile sauce, as its called, is just slightly above mild but still tasty and there was plenty to cover both tamales.

The pinto beans and rice were good enough to accompany the tamales, but of course, don't compare to mama's.

For $5.99 a plate, it's a reasonable alternative if you don't have a mother or grandmother that makes tamales for Christmas or if you didn't order any in time.

If you have a favorite place to get good tamales from, PLEASE SHARE. Post a comment or send me and email with your favorite places or recipes, at claudia.palma@sgvn.com , and I'll post them here.