El Mercado del Pueblo (Closed)

RestaurantsSpokane

El Mercado del Pueblo (Closed) cover

A few months back we had a silly little showdown between El Mercado del Pueblo and De Leon where both were declared winners. Hey, there's nothing wrong with having options.

Since its opening, Pueblo has matured and is getting close to living up to the promise of its already strong start. Strides have already been made in its Achilles' Heel, the deli. I mean, really, De Leon pretty much pushed Pueblo's face in the mud when comparing the two there before. This, thankfully, has changed. De Leon still reigns supreme, but Pueblo has bulked up. It has gone to the gym, pumped iron, gone jogging, had its protein shakes. It has danced Zumba, and is now a contender, with a nice selection of meats for tortas and tacos. The enchiladas are excellent. And there are plenty of salsas to choose from, and even homemade sour cream.

As far as their own products go, though, the bakery is where Pueblo truly shines. The bread -- also used by Tacos Tumbras now -- is great, excellent for tortas both in-store and made at home. Add to that the selection of sweets, and I'll go out on a limb and name Pueblo the best Mexican bakery in town. Yes, I went there.

The grocery section is as good as it always was. An excellent selection of dried peppers, canned goods, and perishables. They also carry marinated meats. I would go so far as to say you could easily make Pueblo a market where you could do your day to day shopping.

El Mercado del Pueblo is excellent; the deli might not be perfect yet -- the selection is smaller than De Leon's and they need a register for those who only are using the deli -- but the bakery makes up for it. Good stuff.