Mercado - Manhattan Beach

I hate to be the hater, but Manhattan Village is dead. Lackluster chain stores featuring last season’s goods aren’t going to keep this generic parking nightmare alive, and extensive construction and the opening of boutiques trying to be cute will not resuscitate what is already lost...until Mercado dropped in. 

Mexican food. Elevated. Done with an air of class and all sorts of style and sass, Mercado may be the only reason I ever stop by aside from the convenience of a drive-thru bank. 

Classics like Guacamole come in generous portions, a silky dip with chunky avocados at just-right ripeness and about accent of hot peppers.

A thick Mushroom Choriqueso hits heavy as a melty mix. White wine adds an edge to a light-milk cotija and a buttery Oaxaca cheese. It’s hard to taste the chorizo notes, but it’s better this way. They highlight the robust flavors of the mushrooms and the earthy, peppery poblano rather than overwhelming the mixture. 

Camarones al Ajillo are super-sweet, facedown in clinging garlic butter. It’s all a great plate, but that butter, chewy-crispy hunk of sauce-scraping ciabatta is the best part.

Carnitas. Wow. Pork is always flavorful, and slow-cooked fat-shreds are a guaranteed savor-bomb, but just wow! This stuff saturates every sense. Wrap it up in their house made blue corn tortillas. They’re soft and to die for, and they use a little grain and a hint of nuttiness to cut the fat.

Enchiladas de Pollo come with pillowy pieces of chicken covered in a sweet Oaxacan mole. This mole is less all-engulfing dark-and-gritty compared to some others I’ve had, but the earthiness does shine through. You still get the whole enchilada with this dish.

Capirotada is a moist bread pudding full of sweet raisins sailing on a chocolate and caramel lake. Churro ice cream melts over the top and makes it just the right level of over-the-top.

The Flan is sweet and custardy, firm with none of that inferior rubbery quality. Creamy and spiced up with Rompope, this is a dessert worth saving room for. 

I didn’t think I could be wowed anymore, and I definitely didn’t think I could be wowed by anything from Manhattan Village, but there’s a reason even Michelin noticed Mercado. The food is simply  delicious, the best version of the great things we know with dashes of creativity thrown into the mix. The result is something satisfying, sometime then stunning, something I definitely want to see again.