Where morelianos actually go
Mercado Independencia is the everyday market, not the Mercado de Dulces sweet arcade the tour groups hit. It sits a few blocks south of the cathedral, and locals come for cheap, excellent comida corrida, fresh carnitas in the morning, and the day’s produce. Go hungry, eat standing or at the stall counters, and expect to pay very little, roughly 80 to 130 MXN for a full comida corrida (approximate). The rule: eat wherever the line of office workers is longest at lunchtime.
Corundas and gazpacho carts. In the mornings you will see people lining up at street carts near the markets and along Madero for corundas, the local triangular tamal wrapped in corn leaf, often served with cream and salsa. In the afternoons the same crowds hit the carts for gazpacho moreliano, a cup of chopped mango, jicama and pineapple with lime, chili and cotija cheese. Both run a couple of dollars and are pure local routine. Around 25 to 45 MXN each (approximate).
Cenadurias at night. After dark, families head to small supper spots and cenadurias for enchiladas morelianas, pozole and tacos rather than to bars. Look around the side streets off Madero and near the markets. This is the real evening scene in a city that does not do late nightlife, and it is when you get the best home-style michoacano cooking. Most cenadurias open in the evening and run until nine or ten.
Sunday on the Calzada and in the Bosque. On weekends locals walk the aqueduct promenade and gather in Bosque Cuauhtemoc park at the east end, with kids, balloons, ice cream and coffee. There is often a small market and street food on Sundays. It is the closest thing the city has to a living room, and the best free people-watching in town.
Cantina and coffee culture. Morelia is more of a coffee-and-conversation city than a drinking one. Students and workers fill the cafes under the Portal Hidalgo arcades on Plaza de Armas through the afternoon and evening. For a drink, the old-school cantinas near the center serve beer and botanas (free snacks with your drinks) in a low-key, unpretentious way, more talking than partying.
A friend’s tip
Skip the sweet-market prices near the cathedral for anything but a taste. For real michoacano food at local cost, walk to Mercado Independencia at lunchtime and eat whatever has the longest line in front of it, then finish with a gazpacho from a street cart. On a Sunday, take your coffee to the Bosque Cuauhtemoc and just watch the city relax. For the dishes themselves, see the food guide and the food category.