Your day in food court: El Mercadito

Refreshing agua fresca (Credit: Shane Redsar)

Like freeways and Pinkberrys, malls (both big and mini-) and there food courts are an inescapable part of L.A. It’s easy to dismiss them as commercial eyesores, but we love the kitschy concentration of crowd and cuisine.

Our continuing search for the best food courts in the city leads us to the eastern edge of Boyle Heights. A row of painted mariachis stand guard along the top facade of El Mercado de Los Angeles, a three-story marketplace so central and dear to the Chicano community, it’s commonly referred to by the diminutive El Mercadito.

The market is stocked with wondrous sundries, including foodstuffs (beans, rice, chorizo, dried grasshoppers), apparel (handmade belts, woven bags, cowboy hats) and unexpected provisions (rough-hewn brooms, dustpans, noisemakers, even girdles). Looking for a tortilla press or a molinillo, that wooden thingamajiggy that foams up hot chocolate real pretty? You’ll definitely find it here—in a pile somewhere. But the food is where it’s at—and the mercadito has plenty of it.

Strolling through the first level of the mall, we're instantly swept up by the bustle of barkers, food vendors and families relaxing on a Saturday outing. The air is filled with the intense aromas of steaming, frying and grilling. Buskers with guitars in tow roam the plaza, ready to belt out a tune to whoever will listen.

Thirsty? We hit up one of the jugos stands for a quick refresh of jamaica or horchata. Orange Julius has nothing on Julias Antojitos Jugos y Bionicos, which serves a variety of fresh and tasty beverages along with a few appetizers.

Mariscos el Gallito specializes in authentic seafood dishes. We order the mojarra frita, a whole tilapia, deep-fried and served on a bed of rice and vegetables. The seasoned crackling skin breaks away to reveal steaming, flaky, moist flesh—delicious.

There is a plethora of choices to satisfy our sweet tooth, from candy sold farmers-market-style in bins to bakeries doling out hot, fresh pan dulce. Lily’s Panaderia y Pasteleria is a good choice for picking up a sweet roll or two. They also take cake orders for special occasions.

But the real action takes place on the third floor where two large restaurants, El Torasco and La Perla, literally face off. (The seeming rivals are in fact affiliated with each other). The day we visit, the restaurants battle it out with the fierceness of a Hatfield-McCoy grudge match—not with food alone, but with a spectacle of dueling mariachi bands. It's a beautiful study in chaos theory as blaring trumpets and wailing singers unleashed at full, cacophonous volume. We’d be hard-pressed to determine a clear winner in the music portion of the competition, but La Perla whips up a mean poblano enchilada, and the tamarind salsa is truly amazing.

The Indiana Street Metro Gold Line station is under construction just across the way, which means the three stories of jamaica, fried mojarra and mariachis will soon be just a hop, skip and four stops from Downtown. El Mercadito, here we come—next time on a Sunday, when, we're told, three mariachi bands duke it out.