August 2026 | Vol. 36 Iss. 8
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Murray
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Corn chili ice cream flavor? Wait what?
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Special Food Edition
Recipes for generations Readers share their family favorites
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The road to Utah’s best tamales apparently leads to a parking lot By Shaun Delliskave | s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com While saving for a full-sized food truck, Itzel Erandi has built a devoted fan base from a crimson van parked beside a gas station, one tamale at a time.
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t’s not every day that a parking lot becomes a culinary destination. Yet on Sundays, while some Utahns are searching for brunch reservations, others are searching for a crimson van near a grocery store. Why? Because House Tamales is rumored to serve the best tamales in Utah. Whether that’s officially recognized by any governing body of tamale experts remains unclear, but the growing crowds around owner Itzel Erandi’s van suggest the public has already reached a verdict. On most Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, customers begin lining up near the Smith’s Marketplace at 845 E. 4500 South, drawn by the aroma of fresh tamales and the promise of a meal worth planning a weekend around. What started as a simple idea has grown into one of the valley’s most beloved mobile food businesses. Behind House Tamales is Itzel Erandi, a native of Michoacán, Mexico, who has lived in the United States for the past seven years with her husband and three children. The story behind the tamales begins long before the crimson van. “I learned how to make tamales from my mother back in Michoacán,” Erandi said. “To this day, I believe that her seasoning is what makes these tamales so special. There is something magical about a mother’s cooking.”
That family tradition remains at the heart of every tamale she sells. Unlike many food businesses that begin with elaborate business plans and spreadsheets, House Tamales was born from something much simpler. “The idea of selling tamales from my truck came naturally,” she said. “It wasn’t something I planned, it simply came to me one day. I just knew that I wanted people to experience and enjoy the tamales that mean so much to my family and me.” Fortunately for Utah tamale lovers, she acted on that impulse. What customers may not realize is the amount of work hidden inside every tamale. While many people are sleeping, Erandi is already hard at work preparing the next day’s batch. “My work begins early and requires many hours of preparation,” she explained. Her day starts at 6 a.m. by boiling meats before preparing both red and green sauces and shredding the meat. Around 7 p.m., she begins assembling tamales and works until approximately 9:30 p.m. If that sounds like a long day, she’s not finished. The next morning starts at 4 a.m., when she begins cooking the tamales. While they steam, she prepares what she describes as her special “magical” green sauce before packing everything and heading out to serve customers. That’s right. While many of us are debating whether we have enough energy to hit the snooze button one more time, Continued on page 8
Itzel Erandi is hoping to save enough for a full-blown food truck to sell what some say are the best tamales in Utah. (Shaun Delliskave/City Journals)