Mexico Part 22: Tianguis

Beads anyone?

They cut the fruit fancy to make it more tempting.

This gives you an idea how many stands and people there can be at a tiangis.  Depending on the time of day they are more crowded than others.  They do cram a lot of stands in one area.

You buy by the kilo.  I am still trying to learn the metric system.  I should have paid more attention while I was teaching my third graders.

The nice thing about the tianguis is you only have to buy what you need.  If you only want a quarter of the head of lettuce they will cut you a piece.  No more waste here.

These are the tlacoyos.  They don't look super amazing but add to the top of them some crema (mexican sour cream), salsa, nopales (cactus), beans and a freshly squeezed orange juice on the side and you are good to go!

Finally, my post about the tianguis.  All around the city at any given day there are these tianguis.  They are open markets and depending on the size of the tianguis you can find anything you might be looking for.  This isn't normally the tianguis that I go too, but I took pictures here because I was able to go for pleasure and not have to get the weekly list of goodies.

What do I love about the tianguis?

1.  Fresh fruits and vegetables.  I have stopped buying from the store because they are much more fresh.  They can last you two to three times longer than the ones bought from the store.  The selection is pretty large.  You can almost find everything you might be looking for.  They also seem to have fresh berries all year which is nice as well as your mangos, papayas, jicamas, tunas, whatever your little heart desires.
2.  Fresh eggs.  No more store bought eggs for me.  They eggs aren't refrigerated from the tiangis but they are usually never refrigerated around these parts.  But, when you crack a tiangis egg they seem to crack easier which I always thought meant fresher.  Not to mention that they are cheaper too.  The only thing that isn't good is Elijah with the eggs.  He thinks they are balls so on Mondays (which is the day I go to the tiangis) I have to watch my eggs like a hawk.
3.  The people.  I LOVE the people and I think they like me too.  What's not to like right?  They are super nice and they seem to ask about me when I don't come.  Which really doesn't happen often but it is nice when they realize I didn't come one week.  A familiar face makes shopping so personal and a much more pleasant experience.
4.  Tlacoyos and sopes.  They are our Monday breakfast.  They are a stuffed tortilla kind of and I LOVE them too.  Elijah and I are spoiled.  We can be stuffed with a total of 40 pesos (which is $3) and you can't beat that!

So, if any of you ever get the chance to visit me here, guaranteed you will be going to the tianguis with me to experience this great thing about Mexico.