Yesenia Trujillo Carranza sells tamales across the road from Roosevelt High School at the intersection of South Fickett and Fourth streets.
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Marina Peña
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Some of the best chefs and eateries in Los Angeles are elevating the portable masa meal to Michelin levels. These tamal makers offer a unique and adventurous take on the ancient masa masterpiece.
An L.A. icon: Founded by husband and wife Fernando Lopez and Maria Monterrubio in 1994, Guleaguetza has become one of the most lauded restaurants in the country, thanks in large part to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold, who once called Guelaguetza “the most accomplished Oaxacan restaurant in the United States.” Their tamales come carefully wrapped in a large banana leaf so that there is just enough of an opening to decorate the masa with the Lopez family’s legendary black mole. Inside, you will find a treasure of juicy chicken breast meat.
Dessert tamales: Chef Andrew Ponce says he opened his fine dining-style Mexican restaurant A Tí as a tribute to his father. For his dessert tamal, Ponce uses blue masa quebrada — a crumbly, more coarse masa from Kernel of Truth Organics — whipped butter and a blend of seasonal squash from the farmers market. The sweet tamal is then topped with soft whipped cream and a pecan crumble.
Read on . . . for a list of other restaurants and their unique take on the Mexican classic.
If you’re lucky, an L.A. Christmas means you’re unwrapping some incredible tamales.
And if you’re really savvy, you probably have your go-to tamal lady.
“December is tamales season,” Carranza tells The LA Local. “It’s much busier for me, but I love it. I love anyone who really gets joy from my tamales.”
Carranza has been feeding the Boyle Heights community hot tamales, champurrado and café de olla for 20 years.
“I have a lot of enthusiasm for feeding the community,” she said from her tamales cart, located across the road from Roosevelt High School at the intersection of South Fickett and Fourth streets.
Carranza makes her Guerrero-style corn-husk tamales fresh each day — preparing about 50 pounds of masa and offering sweet tamales, classic chicken, pork and queso con rajas.
The stand-out is definitely the tamales de pollo served with a vibrant green salsa that has just the perfect hit of spice to make you shout, “It’s a wonderful life!” this Christmas.
But Carranza isn’t alone on these streets.
Some of the best chefs and eateries in Los Angeles are elevating the portable masa meal to Michelin levels.
Don’t get us wrong, tamales like the ones Carranza and your favorite tamales lady sell do not need the glow up.
But these tamal makers offer a unique and adventurous take on the ancient masa masterpiece.
Komal
3655 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Historic South Central
A tamal rojo from Komal.
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Marina Peña
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The LA Local
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Komal opened in September 2024 at Mercado La Paloma and immediately made headlines for being LA’s first craft molino, which basically means it makes some of the best masa this side of the border.
That masa excellence is on full display in their pretty and plump chuchito tamal, a staple on the menu. The chuchito is a ball of masa stuffed with pork and topped with roasted peppers, tomato sauce, and pickled vegetables.
“The chuchito is from Guatemala, and it represents my team. Most of the people who work with me in the kitchen are from Guatemala, so this dish is a way to represent them,” says Komal’s chef and co-owner, Fátima Juárez. “Without them, we truly wouldn’t be what we are today.”
The flavors feel like a heartfelt nod to traditional dishes found in Mexico City and Oaxaca. The tamales are made with Indigenous corn sourced directly from farmers in Mexico and nixtamalized on site.
“In general, the masa and its consistency make the tamal very light. It melts in your mouth, almost as if you were eating a savory or sweet cake. It’s not very dense; it’s juicy and has a lot of flavor,” Juarez says. “A big part of that has to do with how the masa is made, we don’t use lard; we use olive oil and grape-seed oil.”
For the holidays, Juárez has added some beautiful seasonal tamales. There’s a rojo that’s bursting at the seams with sweet corn and calabacitas, topped with a spicy red sauce. Komal also features a tamal verde with chicken and tomatillo sauce, along with a sweet tamal de leche made with oranges and strawberry jam.
Guelaguetza
3014 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, Koreatown
A mole tamal from Guelaguetza.
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Courtesy Guelaguetza
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Guelaguetza’s tamales are simply stunning to look at. Opening one is as close to unwrapping a Christmas present as it gets.
Founded by husband and wife Fernando Lopez and Maria Monterrubio in 1994, this ode to Oaxacan cuisine has become one of the most lauded restaurants in the country, thanks in large part to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold, who once called Guelaguetza “the most accomplished Oaxacan restaurant in the United States.”
The tamales come carefully wrapped in a large banana leaf so that there is just enough of an opening to decorate the masa with the Lopez family’s legendary black mole. Inside, you will find a treasure of juicy chicken breast meat.
Lugya’h by Poncho’s Tlayudas
4301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, West Adams
Lugya’h by Poncho’s Tlayudas features a savory amarillo sauce.
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Erick Galindo
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The LA Local
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When the humble culinary genius Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez sunsetted his weekend pop-up Poncho’s Tlayudas for a six-day-a-week brick and mortar shop called Lugya’h inside the swanky Maydan Market, LA’s street food lovers both rejoiced and shed a tear. There was nothing like Friday nights feasting on Poncho’s tlayudas. But now we can get them all week long, and there are some added benefits like access to his beautiful Zapotec-inspired tamales.
“In the hills of Oaxaca, we wrap tamales with whatever kind of leaves we can find,” he tells The LA Local.
Lugya’h’s tamales are quite beautiful to look at, but they are also quite lovely to devour. They are turkey tamales wrapped in banana leaves and feature Poncho’s savory amarillo sauce, a blend of hot peppers, tomatoes and turkey broth.
A Tí
1498 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, Echo Park
A Tí serves a sweet dessert tamal.
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Erick Galindo
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The LA Local
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Chef Andrew Ponce says he opened his fine dining-style Mexican restaurant A Tí as a tribute to his father. “My father worked his whole life and still had time to make it to my little league games,” he explained. “So this is for him.”
Ponce admits he was never great at baseball, but he hit it out of the park with his dessert tamal. Ponce uses blue masa quebrada — a crumbly, more coarse masa from Kernel of Truth Organics — whipped butter and a blend of seasonal squash from the farmers market.
“It can be from kabocha green and red squash or red curry squash and honey nut squash,” Ponce tells The LA Local. “And I season it with piloncillo and warm spices.”
The sweet tamal is topped with soft whipped cream and a pecan crumble.
Tamales La Güera
Southeast corner of Broadway and West Vernon Avenue in Historic South Central
The guajolota by Tamales La Güera.
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Kevin Martinez
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The LA Local
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LA Local community engagement director Kevin Martinez swears by Elisa Chaparro Garcia’s guajolota — a hot tamal stuffed inside a bolillo, creating a thick tamal torta — because it’s the closest thing to a Mexico City tamal experience you can find in Los Angeles.
The combination creates a perfect balance between the melty ephemerality of the tamal and the sweet stickiness of the bread. The tamales are served with pork, chicken, queso con rajas, strawberry, pineapple or mole.
“The bolillo allows the tamal to linger a little longer in the mouth,” Martinez explains. “It’s not too soggy, not too dry, creating the perfect bite.”
Tamales La Güera has been serving her Mexico City-style tamales in South Central for more than 20 years and has become so popular that she opened a second stand across the street.
La Flor de Yucatán
1800 Hoover St., Los Angeles, Pico Union
The colado from La Flor de Yucatán.
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Marina Peña
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The LA Local
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This family-owned fixture in Pico Union specializes in Mayan-style, banana leaf tamales.
“Our tamales come from a family recipe from the Yucatán because that’s where our specialty is. We chose bits and pieces from aunts and uncles and made it our own,” says Annie Burgos, co-owner of the bakery.
La Flor de Yucatán has been in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, serving homestyle baked goods like hojaldra — a flaky, sugar-topped pastry with ham and cheese — and regional tamales.
Her parents, Antonio and Rosa Burgos, started the business after baking in their home kitchen in Pasadena in the late 1960s, with Antonio selling the goods door to door and from his vehicle.
“Yucatán is so far down in Mexico, so our tamales have more in common with those from Central America and the Caribbean,” Burgos says. “The consistency of the dough is different, the flavoring is different because you get some of the flavoring from the banana leaf itself, and the tamales tend to be moist.”
Today, they offer three classic Yucatecan tamales wrapped in banana leaves: the colado, a moist, fluffy tamal filled with chicken and pork; the tortiado, a hand-patted tamal with chicken and pork; and the dzotobichay, a chaya leaf tamal often filled with pepper jack cheese.
“My favorite would be the tortiado, but in all the pop-ups that we do, everywhere that we go, the one that reigns supreme is the colado,” Burgos says. “You can scoop into the colado, the other tamales you have to cut into.”
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published June 3, 2026 5:27 PM
Mosquitoes being dropped into tubes to be tested for West Nile virus.
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Tim Boyle
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Officials in Orange County are reporting the first detection of West Nile virus in mosquitos this year.
Where? Mosquitos collected in the Newport Beach area have tested positive for West Nile, according to Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District. The infected insects were collected in an area bordered by Campus Drive, Jamboree Road, State Route 73 and John Wayne Airport. according to the OCMVCD.
Any humans infected? There are no reported cases so far of West Nile in humansin Orange County.
What’s West Nile again? For humans, the CDC says the virus is commonly spread through the bite of the infected insects and can lead to severe illness affecting the central nervous system. Symptoms can include: fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rash.
What’s being done about it? Vector Control workers will continue inspections to try and tamp down on mosquito breeding.
What you can do: O.C. officials said dumping and draining standing water at least once a week is the best way to limit the pests in your community.
The OCMVCD also shared these tips:
Clean and scrub bird baths and pet water bowls.
Wear repellent containing DEET, Picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
Close all unscreened doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering your home or space; repair broken or damaged screens.
Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and long pants while outside at dawn and dusk.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published June 3, 2026 3:54 PM
A Los Angeles City Council meeting April 2, 2025.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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The Los Angeles City Council moved Wednesday to postpone some of the biggest changes possible under a new state law putting more housing near transit stops. Instead, the council advanced plans for increased density in some targeted neighborhoods.
SB 79 is set to take effect July 1. That hotly debated state law allows apartment buildings between five and nine stories tall near train and rapid bus stops. But the law lets cities delay full implementation until 2030 by crafting local, phased-in approaches for creating more housing. On Wednesday, the council voted 13-0 in favor of a new “Low-Rise Ordinance,” allowing buildings up to four stories tall in 57 neighborhoods near transit stops.
L.A.’s proposed new ordinance aims to delay full implementation of SB 79 in areas deemed historically significant, at high risk of fires or economically “low resource.” Advocates for increased development say the way to get rising rents under control is to build more housing. But homeowner groups in areas the city considers “high resource” have argued denser housing doesn’t belong in the nearly three-quarters of residential land zoned for single-family homes.
Barbara Broide, a board member of the Westside Neighborhood Council, said in an earlier City Planning Commission meeting that the city’s plans to delay SB 79 by channeling growth into certain neighborhoods could have “unintended consequences.”
“The promise of having duplex, triplex and courtyard typologies of housing are being lost with this measure,” Broide said. “Instead we’re seeing four-story apartment buildings with no setbacks, no trees, no place for families, for children to play or tomatoes to be planted.”
Mahdi Manji, a policy director with the Inner City Law Center, said during Wednesday’s public comment period that he supported allowing mixed-income developments in neighborhoods that have historically resisted such housing. But he called for tweaks that would allow ground-level parking and greater density for projects that include more income-restricted units.
“This could be a unique opportunity to make some of these projects a little bit more feasible while adding a little bit of deeper affordability,” Manji said.
The plan still needs to come back to the full City Council for a final vote. Then it will head to the desk of Mayor Karen Bass. She had asked Gov. Gavin Newsom last year to veto SB 79, arguing the state shouldn’t tell L.A. how to plan for more housing.
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A bipartisan majority in the Republican-led House voted on Wednesday to end the war with Iran, the clearest rebuke yet of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict and the subsequent economic fallout.
About the vote: The war powers resolution passed by a vote of 215 to 208, with four Republicans joining Democrats in support.
What it means: The vote is mostly symbolic. Democrats, despite multiple attempts, have been unable to pass a war powers resolution through the Republican-led Senate. Even if the measure passed in Congress, it would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump, whose administration has questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Act.
A bipartisan majority in the Republican-led House voted on Wednesday to end the war with Iran, the clearest rebuke yet of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict and the subsequent economic fallout.
The war powers resolution passed by a vote of 215 to 208, with four Republicans joining Democrats in support.
The resolution had originally been set for a vote two weeks ago, but Republican leaders sent House members home early for a May recess when it appeared the largely Democratic-backed measure had enough Republican votes for passage. However, the extended break didn't shift GOP support to kill the measure.
Ahead of the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended Trump's decision to attack Iran.
"Remember … Iran declared war on us 47 years ago. They chant 'death to America.' The president is trying to keep the people safe," Johnson told reporters.
The vote is mostly symbolic. Democrats, despite multiple attempts, have been unable to pass a war powers resolution through the Republican-led Senate. Even if the measure passed in Congress, it would almost certainly be vetoed by President Trump, whose administration has questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Act.
Still, Senate Democrats have been inching closer. Last month, they won support on a procedural measure to set up a war powers vote after a handful of Republicans broke ranks to join them. A final vote has yet to be scheduled.
The administration has furiously pushed against the effort in both the House and Senate. Wednesday's vote signals his support for the war may be slipping even among some members of his own party.
Now more than 90 days into the conflict, some Republicans have expressed frustration that the war does not appear to have a clear end in sight. Talks to end the war have yet to gain clear traction, casting doubt on a fragile ceasefire. Just hours before the vote, Iran and the U.S. traded strikes in the Persian Gulf.
The conflict began on Feb 28 with strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces on Iran. Under the 1973 War Powers Act, the president has 60 days to end hostilities if there has been no congressional authorization – though he is able to seek a 30-day extension. The same law also gives Congress the ability to end hostilities by voting on a resolution to end military action, subject to presidential veto.
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., warned ahead of the May recess when the vote was delayed that the plan was sure to pass.
"Let's be clear: Republicans pulled this vote because they knew they were going to lose it," Meeks said. "They know this war is a political and strategic disaster."
Copyright 2026 NPR
The latest data shows that EVs typically cost $3,159 per year to insure — nearly $1,000 more than gas-powered cars. It’s an added burden that could make the payback period on EVs significantly longer.
The cost breakdown: On average, the insurance gap between electric and internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles was 42%, according to a report released today by the insurance-comparison marketplace Insurify. But it varies drastically by state and model. The most expensive locale was Washington, D.C., where coverage cost $6,394 versus $4,124 for ICE cars. In California, coverage for electric cars costs $3,584 on average versus $2,969 for ICE cars.
Which car brands have the highest insurance? Generally speaking, luxury brands like Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi are particularly expensive to insure, with premiums on many models topping $4,000. Volvo, Chevrolet, Ford, and Hyundai offer cars at the lower end of the spectrum. Insurify wouldn’t disclose which insurers had the most expensive rates, but did say Lemonade, Root, and GEICO offered the most affordable EV coverage. A primary reason for the disparity is that EVs cost more to fix.
Electric vehicles offer many opportunities to save money: on gas, on oil changes, on engine maintenance. But, it turns out, insurance isn’t one of them. In fact, the latest data shows that EVs typically cost $3,159 per year to insure — nearly $1,000 more than gas-powered cars. It’s an added burden that could make the payback period on EVs significantly longer.
On average, the insurance gap between electric and internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles was 42%, according to a report released by the insurance-comparison marketplace Insurify. But it varies drastically by state and model. The most expensive locale was Washington, D.C., where coverage cost $6,394 versus $4,124 for ICE cars. Maine was the cheapest at $1,476, just $184 more than a conventional car. The difference was most pronounced in Rhode Island, which has a 73% spread.
Generally speaking, luxury brands like Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi are particularly expensive to insure, with premiums on many models topping $4,000. Volvo, Chevrolet, Ford, and Hyundai offer cars at the lower end of the spectrum. Insurify wouldn’t disclose which insurers had the most expensive rates, but did say Lemonade, Root, and GEICO offered the most affordable EV coverage.
“Insurers were charging those higher premiums to balance their risks,” said Julia Taliesin, an economic analyst and insurance agent at Insurify, who wrote the report. It is based on more than 235 million quotes in Insurify’s proprietary database. Seven states — Alaska, Hawai‘i, North Dakota, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming — are excluded due to lower quoting volume. But high insurance expenses means it can take more driving before an EV pays for itself through lower fuel and operating costs. Even if electricity were free and gas stays at $4 per gallon it translates to at least 5,800 more miles a year compared to a car that gets 25 mpg.
A primary reason for the disparity is that EVs cost more to fix.
“We do see that there is a delta in the cost of repair for electric vehicles compared to ICE,” said Ryan Mandell, a vice president of strategy and market intelligence at Mitchell, a company which provides data and software related to car repairs. He pegs the difference at about 15%, noting that batteries are relatively expensive to fix and for mechanics to work around and that EVs have complicated electronics. But there are more fundamental factors as well, like the lack of an engine.
Mandell gave the Ford F-150 as an example. From 2022 to 2025 an electric version of the pickup truck, called the Lightning, was available alongside gas-only and hybrid versions. When Mitchell subjected the gasoline and EV models to a front-end crash test the engine in the traditional model actually absorbed quite a bit of the impact. Because it doesn’t have that additional structure, Ford designed the Lightning with additional reinforcement that cost around 30% more to fix.
“The Lightning had more crash parts on the front of the vehicle,” said Mandell. He also noted that Ford requires removing the battery before doing any work, which increases labor costs. “It adds up.”
Repair costs, however, are not the only factor insurers consider. Insurify’s data showed insurance rates for the two trucks are roughly the same, which Taliesin said suggests driver demographics and behavior play a role, too. “One of the most significant is personal driving history and credit history,” she said. Given the Lightning’s much higher cost, the credit scores of owners could potentially be higher. And Insurify’s data shows that the ticket and accident rates for Lightning drivers are about half that of traditional F-150s.
“Factors like climate risk, vehicle theft rates, population density, insurance regulation, repair infrastructure, and EV adoption levels contribute to regional cost differences,” the Insurify report stated. In several states it cited climate-driven extreme weather, such as hurricanes and flooding, as drivers of high costs.
This EV insurance story isn’t unique to the United States. In 2024, BloombergNEF found about the same spread in the United Kingdom and Germany. France saw double the disparity. Overall, though, American EV owners still paid 87% more for insurance than Europeans.
“Several model-specific factors have driven the wider cost gaps in the large and SUV segments,” said Aleksandra O’Donovan, head of electrified transport at BloombergNEF, pointing to the Tesla Model Y as a particularly extreme example. “[The U.S. price] is nearly triple the insurance rate for the same vehicle in Germany.”
From 2023 to 2025, the EV insurance gap in the U.S. grew from 29% to 49%. But this year, it came down slightly, which Taliesin said is among a few good signs for EV drivers. Another is that the disparity among cars made in the last two years was only 18 percent — compared 42% across all years.
That drop is partly because auto insurance prices fell across the board in the last year. But Taliesin also said that ICE cars are catching up to EVs in terms of how complicated and expensive they are to fix. The cost of EV batteries is also trending downward, too. As EV sales have grown, there is more data for companies to base their prices on and more incentive for them to court EV owners.
”We’ve been seeing a ton of insurance-shopping behavior as insurers have been dropping their rates to compete for business,” said Taliesin, who is bullish for consumers. “That’s definitely a welcome reprieve.”
