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| - Well, it's probably all been said and been done about this place. Today I finally made the trip inside the store, rather than just going to the restaurant on the side. It was too early for lunch at Tradiciones so in I went. I knew that the market had a lot going on at all times; I nearly run down at least 6 people getting in and out of the parking lot and I'm a really good driver (seriously-not Raymond from Rain Man good, but actually good!). The parking lot on the store side is always packed.
So the focus of my trip was the cucina. It was bustling for lunch already at just 10:30. So as I'm trying to make sense of the menus posted in both Spanish and English on the wall above the hot food line or whatever, I am greeted by a nice woman that helps me decide where to go. She mentioned sopes first, so that's what I started with.
My order was way too much food for one, but I wanted to try a couple of things. So I got both a chicken and a steak sopa, a street taco al pastor (pork), and a side of beans. They did have combos unlike another reviewer said but I only wanted to add beans an opted for a side instead. My total for food was $11.00. Not super cheap, but like I said more food than I would normally order at once.
So a sope for those unfamilar is not a torta as someone else said. It's more like a weird tostada or open faced sandwich. The base is somewhere between a corn tortilla and an all out bread. It does appear to be flash fried to cook but I'm not totally sure and it didn't feel greasy. The sides are curved to make a small cup to fill with beans, meat of choice, topped with shredded lettuce, grated cojita cheese (I'd describe Mexican parm--hard salty and good!!) The chicken and steak were both tasty. The steak was a little strung together if you will. I'd rather have seen it be chopped better so I would be easier to eat smaller bites. If your teeth didn't make it through that bite, a big chunk was coming along with it. Sorta messy but good though I felt like my sopa was a bit tougher than it should be and my extra cheap plastic fork would bend to the will of the sope.
The street taco was just so I could taste the al pastor. Two tiny corn tortillas topped with a bit of pork. I topped it with onions and cilantro and would totally eat the al pastor in another dish.
Beans. Not a really a fan. They lacked the taste of say Carolina's beans though the texture matched. A disappointment.
Salsa bar was good. Hot green and red, and the pico was spicy too. Fresh onions and chopped cilantro are a must so it was good to have those.
Agua Fresca...Just love it. I had the fresh guava juice. So tasty and well worth the additional $2.91 I spent for the 32oz drink.
Total food and drink, $13.91. A little spendy for lunch served in stryo while seated on a bench, but it was fun and I will order a little differently next time so it won't be as expensive and I won't order more food than I can eat.
Market, looks good. Great looking bakery (really), meat counter, tortilla factory, etc. I'll probably not go out of my way to get there for things I can buy at Food City on a regular day. This does look like a fun way to go get some lunch before you shop for dinner on a weekend. I'll definitely take others for hot food and a fun people watching experience, plus pick up a few goods on the way.
I don't really know about authentic. It's probably not. I don't really care. My dad's family is from near the Mexican border and though I've been to mercados in Mexico and even here, I liked that this place is busy and clean. Campy, sure. But like I care!
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