Richmond, VATamales

The tamales here grew from a family visit into a preorder offering. Corn husks hold red chile pork and green chile chicken, while other fillings pair chipotle sweet potato with Oaxacan cheese or guajillo chile with red miso mushrooms. The kitchen also makes pickled onion, carrot and serrano chile escabeche to go with them. Look for the next preorder; the masa and fillings are made together by the family and the restaurant team.

This South Richmond counter serves Mexican guisos, handmade corn tortillas and, when available, banana-leaf tamales. The tamales share a menu with slow-simmered birria and posole, and the food comes out on cafeteria trays in a room that draws families and nearby workers. Order the banana-leaf tamales when they are on the hot line. Their availability varies, so they are a dish to look for alongside the stews rather than assume will be there every visit.

The Henrico shop combines a Mexican market and restaurant with a tortilla factory behind the hot-food case. Freshly made tamales are among the foods prepared for celebrations. Order the tamales when they are offered, then browse the market's Mexican pastries and produce. The factory makes tortillas from corn that is soaked, milled and worked into dough on site; the tamales give the Nine Mile Road location another reason to visit beyond its fresh tortillas.