Get a Taste of the Markets

Mercado Benito Juárez is just a block south of the Zócalo. Besides ice cream and refreshing fruit-flavored water, you can find artisanal leather goods, hats, and knives. Mercado 20 de Noviembre is better known as the “mercado de comida” (food market) for its stalls that are basically diners. Not-to-be-missed dishes: tlayudas con tasajo (giant tortillas with dried beef), enchiladas de mole (enchiladas in spicy, complex mole sauce), pan de yema (rich bread), chocolate con agua (water-based hot chocolate drink), chapulines (grasshoppers), queso fresco (fresh cheese), and quesillo (soft, unaged cheese).