Los Hernández Tamales
Mexican restaurant · Union Gap ·
James Beard award-winning eatery serving fresh, flavorful tamales
James Beard award-winning eatery serving fresh, flavorful tamales
"Tucked away beneath the north slopes of the Union Gap is a simple, whitewashed cinderblock building that contains one of Central Washington’s greatest culinary treasures. Los Hernández Tamales has perfected the tamale since Felipe Fernandez opened the doors in 1990, picking up a James Beard America’s Classic award in 2018 for honoring this traditional Mesoamerican food. The menu is utterly spare, so you can always expect corn tamales filled with pork or chicken with salsa alongside rice and beans or salad; if you visit during asparagus season in the spring, you’ll also find sensational asparagus and pepper jack cheese tamales." - Teo Bicchieri
"This Union Gap icon finally gained the national recognition it deserves in 2018 with a James Beard Classics Award. Serving only tamales since 1990, owner Felipe Hernandez’s warm, unassuming shop is a worthy destination for its namesake specialties, including the famous asparagus and pepper jack cheese tamales. They’re available hot and ready to eat onsite, but there are also some frozen options for dining at home and one can also purchase masa by the bag." - Megan Hill
"The modest white cinderblock building has the word "tamales" on every window and above the door, and inside that's what they serve at the counter. Felipe Hernandez and his family have mastered all manner of tamale, but the specialty of the house is the summertime asparagus and pepperjack. The cheese gives a snap to the crisp vegetable flavor of the asparagus. For a long time it was mostly locals popping in for take-home orders, but since the restaurant won a James Beard America's Classic award in 2018, a steady flow of roadtrippers has found its way to the door." - Jenna Scatena, Allison Williams
"At the Union Gap tamale shop opened by Felipe Hernández and his wife in 1990 (with a second location added in Yakima in 2019), I found chicken and pork tamales made with cornmeal cooked and ground in-house that draw customers from around the region and even from Europe and Asia; the James Beard America’s Classics award in 2018 only increased the excitement and foot traffic. Each spring they debut asparagus and pepper jack tamales—sourced from a nearby farm stand and so popular they use about 6,000 pounds of local asparagus during the season—an item the owners say became a phenomenon largely by word of mouth." - Kelly Knickerbocker
"Undoubtedly the Yakima Valley’s most famous foodie attraction, this no-frills Union Gap tamale shop owned by Felipe Hernandez and family won a prestigious America’s Classics Award in 2018 from the James Beard Foundation. The restaurant’s springtime seasonal asparagus tamale is its most coveted, but chicken and pork versions are equally excellent." - Alisha McDarris