I heard once that you can't make good, moist tamales without lard, but that person was wrong. The Tamale Store makes theirs without lard, without shortening, and they're the best tamales I've ever eaten.
You know how so many tamales disappoint and make you sad when you break your fork into them because they only hold a hint of something inside? That's not what these are like. These are packed with all kinds of stuff. Corn. Mushrooms. Spinach.
And they're unbelievably moist. Even though the tamale store has meat-filled and vegetarian options, our meat-eating friends have fallen in love with the vegan tamales after we introduced them. We all insist they are the best tamales we've ever eaten. The Southwest Chipotle is the best of all.
The cool thing is that you don't have to be near their location to get some. The Tamale Store has booths at Farmer's Markets all around the valley, most days of the week. You can check their site for the scheduled day in your city.