The Brief

When LonDen Scott goes out in public in Los Angeles with her $380 Resistol cowboy hat and spurred boots, some people think it’s a costume. But she’s been riding and training horses way longer than Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album drop.

For her, it’s a lifestyle.

“I get it all the time even before her album dropped, but now it's like, people feel like they have a little more license, especially white people,” says Scott, who is the daughter of former Los Angeles Lakers and NBA coach Byron Scott. “They’d say, ‘Are you wearing that because Beyoncé is trying to be country’? I'm like, ‘No, sir. My knife is dirty in my pocket.’”

From Simone Biles to Beyoncé, there’s been a lot of conversation around the country and cowboy lifestyle, and the role of Black women in that space.

Scott, a cowgirl from Ladera Heights, is one of the few Black women in L.A. who is trying to stake her claim in a male-dominated world. For her and other Black cowgirls, it feels like Beyoncé’s album came just in time.

“Enough of our story gets whitewashed and erased,” Scott says. “So, if we need a little bit of something controversial, then let’s go. We're here. We've been here and it's about time we have people talking about it.”

LonDen Scott cleans her horse's hoof in preparation to ride.

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LonDen Scott wears a limited edition belt buckle from the National Finals Rodeo.

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Creating an inclusive space

Less than an hour north of the urban hustle and bustle of downtown L.A., is a quiet, rural agricultural region of Lake View Terrace, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley where visitors smell livestock instead of gas exhaustion.

Here, Scott and a multiethnic crew of horse riders tend to their equines at a ranch they rent in the area. They are part of the newly established Cali Cowboy Company, which started out last October as a group of friends who all had a passion for horses and community.

Scott is the president and one of six founders. And they all keep busy. They have about a dozen horses they take care of, including Scott’s own gelding, 18-year-old Count on Me.

Members of the Cali Cowboy Company ride their horses around an outdoor arena in Lake View Terrace.

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“I do have nicknames for him,” Scott says. “We call him ‘Count’ or ‘Baboy’ or ‘Stink’ or 'Mister Steal Your Mare’." Even the cowboys and cowgirls have nicknames. Scott’s nickname is “Legit 1."

One a recent Monday on the 2-acre ranch, a group that also includes Scott’s two daughters prepare the horses — including “Count on Me” — for their afternoon ride.

During a break, the rookie cowgirl on the scene, Ashley “Baby Fox” Johns, reminisced on her days growing up in Oakland and only associating horseback riding with being rich, white and structured, like many English-style riders.

Longtime friend and Cali Cowboy Company co-founder Rafael “Wicked Smaht” Casal introduced Johns to riding last year. She fell in love with the sport after meeting Scott and attending the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

LonDen Scott started riding horses when she was 5 years old.

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“You see Black cowgirls and you're like, ‘Yeah, we run this,’” Johns says. “It really does fit with the nature of Black women and who we are. We are incredibly resilient and strong. We will make it work. We will find a way. We’re going to do it.”

After ensuring the horses got a stretch and roll, the crew saddled them up. On a usual day, they take them up a mountain trail or ride them through the Hansen Dam trails. Every full moon, they go out on a “Moonlight Trail” in the San Gabriel mountains. They end up on a spot that Scott says the crew calls “horse heaven."

“It's really, really pretty. It oversees everything. And you feel like you're right underneath the stars,” Scott says. To bond, the group travels to bars — sometimes on horseback — to drink and listen to country music. One favorite is Desert 5 Spot in Hollywood.

Eric Cepeda, Bechir Sylvain, Rafael Casal, Samantha Wehlauch, and LonDen Scott are all members of Cali Cowboy Company, a riding club based out of Lake View Terrace.

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“The trails are beautiful,” Scott says. “With L.A., you get kind of the best of everything. You just kind of got to know where to look.”

Outside of tending to horses and trail riding, the group has been training horses and teaching people how to ride. They’ve helped clients with Parkinson’s disease engage in equine therapy and they soon plan to host community events. The group is had their first equestrian event Saturday, April 20th in partnership with the well-known Compton Cowboys.

Kyla Aklilu with her mother's horse, Count On Me.

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LonDen Scott's spurs.

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Showing the next generation how to get back on the saddle

Scott says she’s been riding horses ever since she was 5 years old. And throughout her time, she’s had to face people telling her that she’s not a “real cowgirl” because she doesn’t push cattle, or because she’s Black.

“Being a Black cowgirl, just being a woman, there’s a lot of mansplaining,” Scott says. “When you add in women and then women of color, who can hang with the boys and sometimes even do better, there's a lot of bruised egos that come with it. So I think even more so than Black cowboys, Black cowgirls have their own set of struggles and obstacles and things that we have to prove.”

She’s instilling the tradition — and her strength — in the next generation: her 10-and 11-year-old daughters Kyla and Laila Aklilu, who help tend to the horses when they’re not in school. They both say that their mother has inspired them.

LonDen Scott instructs her daughter, Laila Aklilu, as she circles a riding ring in Lake View Terrace.

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“She’s had so many different forces and so many different injuries, that to see her still doing this is really inspiring to me,” Laila Aklilu says. “Being a cowgirl means you, no matter how many times you get hurt, you have to get back up and go on the saddle.”

Scott often gives the girls reminders so that they ride with a good, upright posture. “Don’t T-Rex … keep down and keep your hands low,” she calmly says to one of her daughters.

One of the riders on the trail is Samantha “Sissy” Wehlauch. She’s from Illinois with a mixed heritage of German and Korean. She owns a horse with braids down its mane named Scarlett and says she feels like she’s found her “tribe” with the group.

When asked about all the attention Beyoncé’s album has shined on Black cowboy culture, she says it’s about time.

“There's so much influence that Black culture has given to us in terms of different music styles, instruments like the banjo were brought over by the slaves, and that became their instrument,” Wehlauch says. “It’s great to see the homage paid back, because the original cowboys were Black and native and Mexican.”

LonDen Scott taught her two daughters, Laila and Kyla Aklilu, how to ride horses.

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History of Black cowboys and cowgirls

The world of cowboys and the Old West is often seen as predominantly white and male, but many historians note that back in the 1800s, 1 in 4 cowboys were Black.

In William Loren Katz’s book The Black West, he writes that Africans, Native Mexicans and Europeans were all a part of creating the cattle industry of the West and Southwest. Katz writes that an average trail crew of 11 might include two or three Black men. Some crews were all Black.

In The Black West, Katz writes that cattle crews started after the Civil War in Texas where millions of cattle roamed free and needed to be fenced in. Black men were able to get jobs managing the cattle and, as historians have noted, the term “cowboy” was first used as a derogatory word to describe them.

Eventually, the word was embraced as a universal term.

As cowboys, Black men protected and tended to cattle. Although Black people, Mexicans and Europeans often worked together, it was rare that Black cowboys could become foreman, trail boss or the ranch owner, Katz writes. The cowboys were often given the hardest jobs, and many fought to resist the positions they were in.

Scott of the Cali Cowboys says that racism persisted over the generations. "Western culture — it has not always been inclusive," she says. "You know, [white people] tried to erase us from it in the first place when we are a part of the originators of this. They weren't calling each other 'cowboy.'"

Samantha Wehlauch's horse, Scarlett, with a braided mane.

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Horse decor at the ranch where LonDen Scott and members of the Cali Cowboy Company keep their horses.

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There were also fierce frontier women like “Stagecoach Mary” Fields who tended to horses and carried a rifle in the late 1800s. She became the first Black woman — and second woman — to drive a U.S. mail route.

There were others who were pioneers in settling the West — Black women in California who secured and protected their land and property like Laura Pearson, Mary Pleasant and Biddy Mason.

As more Black Americans moved west during The Great Migration, they found pockets of communities in places like Compton’s Richland Farms.

Fast forward to the early ‘80’s, real-estate agent Mayisha Akbar started the Compton Jr. Posse in Richland Farms, an urban agricultural hub for Black Angelenos since the 1950s and '60s, to keep young Black boys and men out of street gang life. Akbar’s organization is recognized as the predecessor to the Compton Cowboys riding club.

Kyla Aklilu learned how to ride horses at a young age and is part of the riding club her mother helped found.

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Making it accessible for all

As the urban sprawl spreads and technology continues to develop, gone are the days where cowboys are seen as pioneering, rural and rough like in the early American West era. Now the leisure and competitive sport of equestrianism — which includes Western, English and Charro horse-riding styles — are known to be expensive, and for the privileged.

Scott, the daughter of a former NBA player, said she thinks it’s a misconception that horsemanship is solely for the privileged.

“I think that’s a misconception that’s kind of already been floating around, that you have to look a certain way, have a certain status, a certain amount in the bank to really get out and do this and that’s not the case,” Scott says. “I think the only access it gave me above anybody else was just being able to travel and do different things in different places. I would say in terms of just finding where the horses were everywhere I went, that was on me.”

LonDen Scott, her daughter Kyla Aklilu, and Cali Cowboy Company member Samantha Wehlauch ride their horses in Lake View Terrace.

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Long Beach cowgirl Chanel Rhodes also emphasized that horseback riding is not just for the rich. But she says she has to pass up on some things — like getting her nails done and even a few doctor’s appointments — to upkeep her horse.

“We are just trying to hold on to our lifestyle that we love,” Rhodes says. ““I understand that golf is cheaper. Playing basketball is cheaper. But I have made certain sacrifices to be able to live this life.”

Rhodes manages horses at Disneyland and is the founder of a horse wig company called Mane Tresses, but her long-term goal is to start the first Black-owned ranch in Orange County and make it affordable for people who may not otherwise have access to a stable.

Rhodes says she’s faced multiple instances of misogyny in the industry. She’s been in spaces where people would stare at her, question her knowledge of horses or avoid clapping for her during English riding competitions, her preferred style of riding.

“I just felt that sinking feeling of ‘This is why I don't belong here. What am I doing here?’ But you have to choose to conquer that,” Rhodes says.

For Scott, she feels responsibility as president of Cali Cowboy Company and its crew of 20-30 people, but she enjoys what she does.

“Horses are my passion,” Scott says. “So just being able to be a part of something allows me to lend that to a group of like-minded individuals who all have the same desire and goals in mind. It's really special. So I feel very honored.”

Data center builders don’t tell the public how much water they use, according to a new report — and the industry is encroaching into water-stressed and vulnerable communities.

The report, by the think tank Next10 and researchers at Santa Clara University, finds that planned data centers — the ganglia of artificial intelligence — are spreading to regions reliant on overtapped groundwater and strained surface water, with potentially major effects in the Central and Imperial Valleys.

But, reinforcing previous studies, the researchers found that a patchwork of state, federal and local policies allows data center operators to avoid publicly disclosing their actual water use.

California lawmakers tried to address this last year, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the measure. Now, the legislature is trying again, with bills mandating disclosures about water use and planning.

“We have this huge build out, and we have very little data,” said Irina Raicu, who directs the Internet Ethics program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

Paired with California’s precarious water supplies, Raicu said, “It’s just not a good combination.”

Shaolei Ren, an expert on the environmental impacts of AI at UC Riverside who was not involved in the study, said the findings point to a much broader problem.

“Limited publicly available information about data center water use makes it difficult for communities, water providers and researchers to have meaningful public discussions and responsibly assess power-water trade-offs,” Ren said in an email.

Murky water use 

Few environmental impact reports for California’s data centers were publicly available online, the researchers found.

Raicu and co-author Iris Stewart-Frey, a professor of environmental science, went looking for the reports, meant to assess and disclose a project’s impacts for both nature and people under the landmark California Environmental Quality Act.

They found almost none. The ones they did find were largely for facilities in the city of Santa Clara.

Through interviews with planning officials, they discovered that projects can slip through with little environmental review if they fall under certain size or water use thresholds, or if they meet a city or county’s criteria for other approval pathways. These include something called ministerial approval, which requires planning agencies to approve a project that meets local zoning and other standards.

Even for data centers that undergo more stringent environmental scrutiny, the researchers found that documentation is rarely available to the public.

In the few cases the planning documents were posted publicly, the information — on the data center’s owner or operator, size, type of cooling system, the amount of water used, whether it’s recycled or potable — was often “missing, contradictory, or vague,” the report said.

The researchers said they contacted water providers in areas where data centers cluster, seeking usage data. None responded.

A shift to vulnerable regions

California’s data centers mostly cluster in the south San Francisco Bay Area and the city of Los Angeles, with smaller concentrations in Sacramento and San Diego.

But the report noted large, planned projects in rural and less affluent regions — like in Santa Clara County’s Gilroy, as well as in the heavily agricultural Imperial Valley.

“They need a bunch of cheap land,” Raicu. “If we’re not careful, they will end up being pitched, very convincingly, to communities that have real needs — without enough attention being paid to the water part.”

Khara Boender, director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, which has opposed bills mandating more granular water-use reporting, said in an email the industry is “committed to being a good neighbor.”

Boender argues that data centers collectively “used significantly less water than other essential industries in 2025, including the agriculture, power, food and beverage, and semiconductor sectors,” but the coalition offers no data to back that up.

Collective use matters less than local impacts in a state where each community has its own mix of water supplies and strains, according to a previous study published by a team at UC Berkeley.

Whether data centers use a lot or a little water relative to agriculture or other industries, “what matters most is the scale of new local use compared to available local supply,” the Berkeley team concluded earlier this year. “Unfortunately, this picture is clouded by data deficiencies.”

In this week’s report, the Santa Clara University team drilled into those local supplies and community vulnerabilities to anticipated expansion.

“We’re at the brink of this happening in California,” Stewart-Frey, the environmental scientist, said. Her report, she added, isn’t advocating against data centers. But “communities should know what they’re getting themselves into.”

Debates over proposed data centers are erupting in a Kern County desert community with dwindling groundwater and in the hot Imperial Valley, which draws from the strained Colorado River. 

Monterey Park residents in the San Gabriel Valley successfully opposed one data center project over environmental concerns and inadequate information and secured an upcoming vote on a citywide ban.

In a letter to city officials, a representative for the developer dismissed opponents as “rage-baiting an uninformed mob to pressure your decisionmaking.”

Raicu pushed back. “If those communities are uninformed about the issue — whose fault is that? Who should be informing the people so that you don’t have this kind of pushback, if there is no need for it?”

New laws v. Big Tech

Last year, Assemblymember Diane Papan, a Democrat from San Mateo, authored a bill requiring data center operators to report estimated or actual water use to their water supplier when seeking or renewing a business license or permit.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the measure amid industry pressure, saying he was “reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements about operational details on this sector without understanding the full impact on businesses and the consumers of their technology.”

Now, Papan is trying again with two bills. One largely reprises last year’s measure, with additional reporting required to the city and county. The other would bar local governments from approving new or expanded data centers unless the developer discloses information about their water use and plans.

It would also set other requirements — like prohibiting development in overdrafted groundwater basins in places like the San Joaquin Valley, unless state water managers OK it.

“You cannot manage what you have not and cannot measure,” Papan said. “The public likes transparency, and they should.”

Both bills cleared a key legislative chokepoint this week but face staunch opposition from the tech industry and business groups.

“If they run out of water, guess what happens? And they can’t cool their systems — are they going to succeed?” Papan said. “To which I say, help us help you.”

Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”

Founders Jenny Yang and Chris Capizzi spent seven years operating as a pop-up without a brick-and-mortar location. Opening their doors to local vendors pays homage to their own roots selling at Los Angeles markets, from the Melrose Trading Post to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market.

“Mega giant online sellers have the scale and the resources and the patience and the reach to capture most people,” Capizzi said. “Whereas for us, I think we have to be really creative — we have to band together.”

Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”

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Yang and Capizzi’s long history of vending at markets taught them how isolating running a small business can be. At their market, they aim to build connections with each vendor and strategize the best timing and layout so everyone can succeed.

“[Amazon and Barnes & Noble] are Goliath, and we’re not even David — we’re just the ant underneath David’s foot,” Capizzi said. “I think we can do what we do and try to get as many people, at our level or even smaller, to get together.”

Weekly markets at A Good Used Book have captivated the neighborhood since its opening in October 2023, with charming names like “Sunday Funday,” “Saturday School” and “Hi-Fi Friday Night,” plus hand-drawn flyers by well-known artist Noah Harmon. Now, it’s become a weekly occurrence where LA pop-ups can display their own crafts, allowing local readers to indulge in a little more than a pocket paperback.

Each week holds a Pandora’s box of niche snacks, crafts or trinkets you didn’t know you needed, ranging from Southeast Asian-inspired trail mix to natural incense sticks to vintage Japanese audio equipment. One week you might be enticed to adopt a kitten from a rescue booth outside, another week you might impulsively get a stick-and-poke tattoo in the back of the store.

Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”

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On one sunny Sunday afternoon, Brandon Stanciell hand-tossed fresh pizza dough on the sidewalk outside the bookstore. His 2-year-old pop-up, Pizza Ananda, which he named after his daughter, is an homage to her and to Italian cooking, a hobby he started during paternity leave. An hour before the market closed, Stanciell had already sold out and garnished his last pepperoni-and-hot-honey pie for one lucky customer.

“I love that places like this allow us all to meet at once to share what we have and give it to the community around us,” Stanciell said.

Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”

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For the owners, building a community market is about deepening relationships with the people who walk through their doors. In an increasingly digital landscape, it is also a reciprocal partnership among local businesses.

“A lot of people talk about community building nowadays as a marketing strategy,” Capizzi said. “But I think the actual community building comes from talking to each vendor and each customer and being a consistent presence in the neighborhood.”

Nestled between Historic Filipinotown and Echo Park is a bookstore turned artisan craft space turned food market, all within 900 square feet. Every Sunday, A Good Used Book on Glendale Boulevard transforms from a retail bookstore into what they call “Sunday Funday Market.”

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While customers browsed for unique titles, Gerin del Carmen worked her booth of ceramic dishware, oyster-shaped trinket holders and vases resembling miniature boxes. As a ceramicist, del Carmen draws from her Filipino heritage, including the Balikbayan boxes that represent immigrants sending gifts to family in the Philippines.

“Sharing the community and your space is such a big deal. This is not a huge, gigantic Barnes & Noble store,” del Carmen said. “It has so much foot traffic, and the fact that [the owners] are setting up and sharing the space once or twice a week with other vendors and other artists is huge.”

Yang and Capizzi may think of themselves as an “ant underneath David’s foot,” but A Good Used Book is building a colony of vendors, rooted in community.

Whether you and your friends are looking for a brunch spot to cater to everyone's palates, or taking a trip to the historic Grand Central Market, food halls make for an easy, affordable place to satisfy cravings — especially in SoCal, where diverse selections of dishes reign supreme.

But these spaces fill a void much deeper than our appetites. They bring new life to old storefronts, factories or even airfields (see list below), and can offer a way to keep dollars within the community by becoming a hub for local businesses.

With that said, here's a short list of food halls where you'll get more than just a killer meal.

For good vibes

BLVD MRKT food hall on the corner of 6th Street and Whittier Boulevard in downtown Montebello.

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BLVD MRKT is an open-air food hall in downtown Montebello that feels like a party. The 8,500-square-foot space currently has five eateries, or "concepts" as they're known in the restaurant industry, and hosts live DJs every Friday night and Sunday during brunch. They also host Open Vinyl Night on the second and forth Tuesday of every month, where patrons get $2 off beers and margaritas from Alchemy Craft if they bring a vinyl record to be played in the BLVD courtyard.

The space is pet-friendly and has growing concepts like Los Taquero Mucho, which offers classic al pastor, grilled chicken and slow-cooked carnitas tacos, as well as specialty flavors like vegan tacos with whiskil sautéed in coconut milk, and Pork Belly Cochinita Pibil Tacos, perfect for those who crave crispy, slow-roasted pork with a hint of sweetness.

Los Taquero Mucho participates in BLVD's incubator program, run by co-founders Barney and Evelyn Santos. The program offers mentorship to local entrepreneurs until they can set up shop permanently.

Pork Belly Cochinita Pibil Tacos with salsa from Los Taquero Mucho at BLVD MRKT in Montebello.

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BLVD MRKT is part of the couple's commercial real estate development firm, Gentefy. Its mission is to invest in retail and hospitality projects that ignite economic development and revitalization in Black and brown neighborhoods.

"Blvd Mrkt is our first project," Barney Santos wrote in a text message. "It was our social proof to prove to banks, investors and cities that a socially conscious business model could exist in a traditionally overlooked area."

VCHOS Pupuseria Moderna also has a spot in the BLVD courtyard, offering handmade pupusas with filling choices such as shrimp with spinach and cheese, and tender beef birria with a side of consommé, onions and cilantro. Coffee lovers can get an Oaxacan Mocha at Cafe Santo, or stop by Cold Pizza for a wood-fired slice.

For eclectic tastes

Rodeo 39 Public Market in Stanton.

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An O.C. favorite, Rodeo 39 Public Market lives on Highway 39, also known as Beach Boulevard, in Stanton. This 40,000-square-foot space is an eclectic mix of more than 20 food and drink concepts and retailers. There are three outdoor patios and five murals, plus an arcade, tattoo shop and photo booth. Food options cover everything from Lil' Breezy's adobo breakfast burritos to Cajun crab fries at The Crawfish Hut.

Mural by artist David Flores outside of Joystix arcade at Rodeo 39 Public Market.

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Rodeo's menu choices make it well-suited for a casual weekend brunch. At its entrance sits Here & There, where you can grab a coffee or matcha latte, or try one of their signature drinks like the Iced Vienna, a combination of milk with caramelly demerara sugar and your choice of matcha or espresso, topped with sweet cream and garnished with sea salt. The result is a drink that's smooth and not too sweet.

Eggyo bulgogi egg sandwich with spicy mayo at Rodeo 39 Public Market.

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Eggyo, a recent addition to Rodeo, offers Korean corn dogs and fluffy egg sandwiches on crispy, house-baked milk bread. Try the bulgogi option with spicy mayo for a savory kick. If you crave a cocktail, venture over to CAPO, which also serves craft beer. Or just sit on one of their sun-filled patios while you decide what to try.

For a page from history

The Hangar in Long Beach.

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The Hangar is a 17,000-square-foot food hall that pays homage to Long Beach's aviation history. It sits on former Boeing Co. land where military and commercial aircraft were built. Today, it serves as a dining destination at the Long Beach Exchange Shopping Center, or LBX, neighboring the city's international airport.

This space currently has a mix of 14 food concepts and two retail shops. Patrons can enjoy local favorites outside their flagship locations, like the Joe's Special bagel sandwich from Cassidy's Corner Cafe, with bacon, egg and the star of the show — tangy jalapeño cream cheese. Fans of spice can try Jay Bird's Nashville Hot Chicken, which offers chicken sandwiches and tenders, and Blazin' Fries, all with six levels of heat.

Historic aviation photos are displayed above food concepts at The Hangar food hall at LBX in Long Beach

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Inside, there are vintage pictures of aircraft that were built at the site, and a wall of clocks showing the time in cities named Long Beach across the country.

A Pan Am Hawaii travel poster (left) and a TWA Spain travel poster (right) at the patio of The Hangar food hall.

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Outside, you'll find patio seating with umbrellas where you can sit and watch the occasional plane fly overhead. Or sit and enjoy the adjacent display of towering Pan Am and TWA posters promoting travel to Hawaii, Spain and Paris.

For fun and work

Mercado La Paloma on Grand Avenue in South L.A.

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Open since 2001, the approximately 34,000-square-foot Mercado La Paloma sits in the Figueroa corridor of South L.A., and is known for its focus on community, art and culture. From rotating art exhibits to colorful tiled tabletops, this space feels like it was made to nurture creativity.

Interior of Mercado La Paloma.

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There are meeting rooms to rent starting at $25 an hour. It's a space where locals can bring their laptop to work or study, or have a long conversation with a friend, with bites from six acclaimed restaurants.

Holbox's Erizo dish at Mercado La Paloma.

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At the Mercado, visit Holbox for Michelin-starred seafood dishes like Erizo — velvety sea urchin laid atop a bed of tender scallop ceviche. The combination is fresh, flavorful and oceanic. Tip: If you can swing it, come on a weekday to avoid a long line, or order ahead.

For something sweet, walk over to Oaxacacalifornia Cafe & Juice Bar for a Spicy Pineapple Juice with a gingery kick, or go for the classic pairing of Hot Oaxacan Chocolate, made with your choice of water or milk, and light-as-air conchas crowned with a solid layer of vanilla or chocolate streusel.