The Street food of Antigua Guatemala
In La Antigua there are many options to eat well, including restaurants with great menus which are prepared by incredible chefs (you will certainly find more information in this magazine). However, you can also find street food that is not advertised anywhere, that does not change in essence or ingredients and that has been prepared in the same way for generations a kind of traditional Guatemalan food that has been adapted for the street’s informal eating.
Can you imagine food of Turkish and Spanish heritage that was conceived to be served in special banquets, now at your fingertips, but more importantly, affordable, presented in a way that will not only allow you to discover Guatemalan gastronomy but also adapt it to your hunger, taste and why not, needs.
Taste The street food of Antigua Guatemala at La Merced
In the atrium of the church of La Merced (on 1st Calle Poniente and 6th Avenida Norte, at the ‘end’ of Calle del Arco heading North) you will find food stalls every day, in all of them you can get a taste of a great variety of traditional Guatemalan food: chuchitos (small corn tamales), corn tostadas, traditional chicken sandwiches, and different sauce, broth and meat dishes served on tostadas, in bread and on daily menus, at affordable prices.
Desserts cannot be left out, there is a wide variety for all tastes, served, yes, on plastic plates. The idea is that since the sun goes down on weekdays and, almost from noon on weekends, all those who want to try the food that is usually served in Guatemalan homes, have the opportunity to do so by deciding the portions and the variety they want to consume.
You can accompany your choice of food with a glass of lemonade with chia (which we call “chan”), pure water or a soda.
Taste The street food of Antigua Guatemala inside the Municipal Market
Inside the Municipal Market, on the Calzada Santa Lucía, there are a large number of dining rooms that offer homemade food and snacks every day, especially during lunchtime. You don’t want to miss the chicken pepián (a thick soup prepared with sesame seeds and different kinds of chillies) and the chicken soup (with tons of veggies), served with tortillas and maybe you’ll be lucky and get some escabeche (pickled veggies with jalapeños).
Whether you eat in the many places available near the church of San Felipe de Jesús, in the Parque de la Unión in the afternoons or in the different stalls scattered around the city, the country’s gastronomy, in the versions most attached to the daily life of Guatemalans, is not expensive, it’s delicious and within the reach of your pocket.
Written by Sofia Letona
Photos by Sofia Letona
