Mercado Gonzalez Northgate Market

It would be easy to call Costa Mesa’s Mercado Gonzalez a temple to Mexican cuisine, but no temple has ever offered the array of foods and drinks found here every day. Upleveled from Southern California’s growing number of Northgate Markets, Mercado Gonzalez has its own tortilla production facility, sausage-making shop, a full service bakery, cevicheria, an aguas frescas stand that puts most restaurants to shame, and vendors selling everything from human-sized chicharrones to freshly made churros and Sinaloan sushi. One counter sells homemade moles, including variations with dazzling complexity of chili, umami, and chocolatey flavors, while another displays Mexican quesos, including pre-spiced spirals and soft blocks of milky, neutral cheese.

Ice cream vendor Paleteria La Nena sells some of the most outstanding pistachio ice cream we’ve ever tasted as a paleta; you can also order melon cantaloupe, prickly pear, rompope (Mexican eggnog), and mango with chili flavors, just to name a few of the more interesting choices. Each can be enjoyed plain, dipped in chocolate, and/or topped with nuts or sprinkles.