As many as 20,000 people descended on the second annual Tamales! at Pearl holiday festival, most unaware that in a nearby room at the Culinary Institute of America, six judges faced the enviable task of choosing the city's best amateur-made tamales.

The weather held as locals stood in long lines at the Pearl Brewery to buy tamales from the most popular restaurants and tamale makers, including Tellez, which won the people's choice award last year; Delicious Tamales; Rudy's; and many others.

Others danced on the slightly muddy amphitheater lawn to holiday mariachi music, shopped at the artisans alley packed with handmade gifts, or played in the area for kids near the upscale kitchen shop Melissa Guerra.

Inside the institute, nervous finalists heated and plated their tamales for the six judges, who included chefs, journalists and food critics.

Organizers said the contest had at least 175 entries, a number whittled down to five finalists each in the chicken, pork and “wild card” categories by Saturday's event.

Asked to rate each tamal by appearance, technique and taste, the judges also bantered among each other as they peeled open tamal after tamal.

Rachel Benavidez, editor in chief of San Antonio magazine and a self-described “tamal snob” from the Rio Grande Valley, asked others about the darker masa of one of the pork tamales.

That was from the addition of a chili powder, said food critic Bonnie Walker.

“Too bad it's also tough and dry,” she cracked.

After the more traditional chicken and pork tamales, the judges tasted the wild card finalists, which included a New Year's version with black-eyed peas, ham and spices, a “Thai-male” of chiles and chicken; chicharrones and chile verde; sweet pineapple; and apple pie with caramel sauce.

The last one, which won the $1,000 prize in the wild card category, was the creation of Courtney Stone and Jamie Gonzales, who said they developed their entry, filled with apples, raisins and caramel, especially for the contest.

But the pair certainly aren't novices.

“We've been making tamales for the last 10 years for friends and family,” Stone said as she laid the sweet treats on a platter to present to the judges.