Caroline’s Kitchen Creates Tamale Magic In Heart Of Tomball

TOMBALL, TX — It’s no secret that tamales are a holiday staple on any Texas table, but finding really good tamales can be tough unless you live in or around Tomball.

For nearly a year, Caroline’s Kitchen, rumored to be the Home of Tamale Magic, has operated out of a small hole-in-the wall store front along Main Street in Tomball.

The restaurant, which opened in February, is owned and operated by Caroline and Chad Cobell, who use the tamale recipes and expertise she learned frome a friend about 15 years ago, and others Caroline came up with on her own.

"Caroline has always made tamales," Chad said.

They got their start at the Tomball Farmer's Market in 2016, thinking first about selling baked goods and pastries.

"When we started at the Tomball Farmer's Market I had cupcakes, brownies and cookies, and cobblers. I was trying to have a bakery," she said. "I had no clue that I'd be opening a tamale shop."

But one night, while she was making dinner, Chad walked past her and casually remarked, "I wonder if we could sell tamales at the farmer's market?"

"I kind of pushed to move toward tamales because we could package them,and freeze them...," he recalled. "We still didn't know how it was going to go."

But that's what they did, and they were a hit with customers at the Saturday farmer's market.

Competitors who were regulars at the farmer's markets, tried Caroline's tamales and stopped coming to the farmer's market.

Within a few short months, they opened their storefront Caroline's Kitchen in quaint downtown Tomball.

Since then, Caroline and Chad have been busily making the tamales that are either shipped or ordered for pickup a few days later.

Other customers come and order the tamales that are kept fresh in a steamer before being vacuum sealed for sale.

While most in Texas may have claimed at one time or another to have had good tamales, these are different that any you will buy from a store, or a trusted friend who makes them with la abuela.

By comparison, the tamales from Caroline's Kitchen are bigger, the masa is better, and they have a lot more meat than abuela's tamales, no doubt.

Not to mention, there are many you cannot find anywhere else on the planet, and customers are starting to hear about those tamales.

On a day that didn’t really feel like the Christmas season, Chad held down the front counter inside the tiny eatery while Caroline’s sister, Amanda Childress, helped create tamales in the kitchen.

Despite the fact no one was inside, they were busy with back orders, and busy making tamales for the customers who come in for a quic dozen or two dozen.

One customer who'd hoped to sit and eat, looked or a place to sit.

"There are no tables," she said

It’s a restaurant without tables, excfept for the small bistro table out front.

But it's a restaurant that has plenty of ambiance, charm, and personality, that reminds first time visitors of an authentic Mexican bodega.

The hand-written chalkboard menu over the front counter tells customers what they have, and when they will have them.

The standard bean and cheese, and pork tamales are among the most popular, but interesting and new tamales, such as the sucy Hell Gate, Tejas Brisket, Pumpkin Pie, Chicken Cream Cheese, Cheese Steak,and Boudin (boo-dan) are all catching on with many more flavors still being introduced, oe yet to be introduced.

So far, there are 15 different varieties.

I don't know where the inspiration comes from. I suppose, life in general," Caroline said. "I keep people guessing and I keep them coming back."

Need holiday tamales? Click here for Caroline's Kitchen.

Image: Chad Cobell shows off a batch of Hells Gate tamales in Carolines Kitchen (Bryan Kirk/Patch Staff)

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