This lively fruteria and grocery store is truly a little slice of Mexico. Even if it's your first time here, owners Jaoquin and his wife Rocio (both only in their mid-20s) have a way of making you feel as though you've been a friend of the family for years. Most of the action takes place at the main counter--which, in true LA-Mex fashion--boasts everything from ice cream & cappuccinos to bionicos (fruit plates w/cream) and ""queritos,"" a hardcore Mexican snack of pickled pig skin that is eaten with--what else?--chile y limon! Metal-frame chairs huddle around a handful of tables (there's even a community computer as well as free Wi-Fi) and a window countertop that looks out onto Eastern Avenue, where you can watch local pedestrians hauling their clothes to the nearby 'lavendaria' (laundrymat) or filling their 5-gallon containers of 'agua pura.'
Pros: Friendly, local business, cheap
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