Gourmet twist on an old-fashioned favorite

Restaurant's tamale recipe has been pleasing palates for five generations

Clockwise from top, Espee?s Gourmet Tamales co-owner Buzz Howell makes a speech at the opening of the restaurant at 4275 S. Durango Drive. Customers filled the parking lot Feb. 23, waiting for the cafe?s doors to open. Mario Hernandez of the Valley High School mariachi band plays a number during festivities to welcome the restaurant to the neighborhood. PHOTOS BY STEVE ANDRASCIK/view Clockwise from top, Espee?s Gourmet Tamales co-owner Buzz Howell makes a speech at the opening of the restaurant at 4275 S. Durango Drive. Customers filled the parking lot Feb. 23, waiting for the cafe?s doors to open. Mario Hernandez of the Valley High School mariachi band plays a number during festivities to welcome the restaurant to the neighborhood. PHOTOS BY STEVE ANDRASCIK/view Advertisement

Five generations have handed down a special recipe for tamales. This current one is planning to make a splash with it.

Espee's Gourmet Tamales has opened at 4275 S. Durango Drive, just south of Flamingo Road.

"When I was little, we made tamales with this recipe at Christmas," said Espee Howell, co-owner/operator. "You'd have all the family around and everyone got in line to make their own tamale."

The new restaurant also is owned and operated by her husband, Buzz, and their son Albert, along with his wife, Gigi.

The nearly 3,000-square-foot eatery can seat 70 and offers take-out and dine-in service using a fast, casual format. Patrons watch as their orders are prepared, moving along six stations -- much as Espee Howell moved along her family kitchen counter to roll her own tamale as a child, she said.

The family said dishes are made with quality ingredients, no trans fats and sauces that are made fresh daily.

A large window allows viewing of the main kitchen. That's where the family's secret recipes are cooked, used for the sauce and salsas. They are recipes that supported Espee Howell's grandfather decades ago when he had a restaurant in northern Mexico. It's also the recipe that Espee herself used in 1983, when she opened a restaurant for a short time in Los Gatos, Calif. It was called Espee's Tamale Factory and was an immediate hit, bringing in nonstop business, she said.

"It was so busy, they had to call the police to direct traffic," said Buzz Howell.

Now, the family said it expects a similar response from the public now that they've opened in Las Vegas.

They said they plan to open five more locations in the future.