Alameda Swap Meet

Vernon, Los Angeles · Mexican · $

The swap meet on South Alameda has worked for decades as a commercial center for working-class Latino Los Angeles: hundreds of stalls selling boots, bridal and quinceañera dresses, phone cases, music and tools, with a food section that functions as a regional Mexican food court. Vendors cook birria, carnitas, huaraches and aguas frescas for people who came to shop rather than to eat out, which keeps both the prices and the standards honest. The merchandise has turned over many times across the years; the food has not.