Street food is where Oaxaca is at its most essential, from tlayudas griddled over charcoal to chapulines, tejate and memelas sold in the markets and plazas. In the Centro historico, Tlayudas Libres on Los Libres and Tlayudas Las Animas on Matamoros work the late-night tlayuda trade, while the Pasillo de Humo inside Mercado 20 de Noviembre fills with grilled meats. El Volador in the Jardin Socrates pours tejate, the prehispanic maize-and-cacao drink, and the chapulines row at Mercado Benito Juarez sells the toasted grasshoppers Oaxaca is famous for.
