Betaza Minimarket

Betaza Minimarket Serves Incredible Oaxacan Street Snacks in Pico-Union | Eater LA

"In Pico-Union I discovered a sunny tiendita that functions as a community hub for Indigenous Zapotecos from Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte: Betaza Minimarket, which opened in 2014 as JSP Mini Market and rebranded in August. Owned by Soledad Montalvo—known locally as Sol de Betaza—this small market wears its nostalgia for San Melchor Betaza on its sleeve, from Montalvo’s white huipil and huaraches to her Zapotec tattoo and a front-counter display of bright orange chile manzano. Outside a street rig with a plancha run by Flor Pérez, who prepares Sierra Norte recipes, the menu changes daily: breakfast dishes and a huevo de comal (best with hierba santa), then an evening grill serving antojitos like tlayudas brushed with lard and black bean paste and topped with shredded cabbage and quesillo; pellizcadas (thin, moistened masa rounds filled with quesillo and enlivened by a smoky orange salsa of dried jalapeño and toasted pumpkin seeds); empanadas filled with mushrooms, huitlacoche, and flor de calabaza; memelas de frijol; and occasional caldo de costilla, tamales de frijol, molotes, or barbacoa de borrego. The market also stocks regional breads (pan de yema, pan amarillo, pan de panela), quelites, tostadas, frijoles de la Sierra Mixe, masa from La Yalaltequita, and pan dulce from Venice Bakery, and it draws locals seeking tacos blandos de moronga and other Sierra Norte specialties—truly a thriving outpost for Indigenous Oaxacan food and culture along West Pico Boulevard." - Bill Esparza