Every weekend, a deserted piece of industrial land on W Gertrude Avenue in North Richmond is transformed into a bustling swap-meet-style flea market. On Saturdays and Sundays, against the backdrop of the smoking Chevron refinery, merchants and families crowd among rows of open-air stalls selling everything from cosmetics, electronics, and power tools to secondhand clothing and vintage treasures from across Latin America.
La Pulga Richmond Flea Market
716 W Gertrude Ave., Richmond; instagram.com/fleamarket_n_richmondca/
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
I like to joke that you can find anything you want here. Stalls overflow with fresh produce, or, if you prefer to grow your own, fruit trees and tomato plants for sale. Before heading through the main entrance, patrons can purchase parakeets in tiny cages from a man on the side of the road. On Sundays, a choochoo train winds through the rows of booths, transporting kids happily licking ice cream cones.
But for many, the real draw to the Richmond Pulga is the food.
Amongst the piñatas, stereo systems, bicycle helmets and ceramics, the diversity of Richmond’s large Latinx population is on full culinary display. There are nearly 30 restaurants and food stalls serving cuisines from across Mexico and Latin America. You’ll find Guatemalan tostadas at Antojitas 502, Mexican barbacoa at El Chaparro, Taqueria Las Palmas and Tacos y Tortas Carlos, and copious amounts of indulgent postre such as crepes, frozen bananas, ice cream and horchata. Many restaurants are family-owned and operated and can only be found here on weekends, with no brick-and-mortar locations elsewhere. Be prepared to pay with cash, although some places accept Zelle or Venmo.
The flea market began in 2006, but shut down for a time during the pandemic. After restrictions were lifted, attendance spiked again, but was reportedly down last year due to concerns around the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. In recent weeks, the aisles have been busy. This may be due to the fact that one of the vendors was featured in an August New York Times article touting the top spots for Mexican food in the country. According to Vivian Mejía, a server at the featured restaurant, Barbacoa Mejía, and the daughter of owner Omar Mejía, not only has business picked up, but the clientele has shifted a bit as well.
“It’s gotten much busier,” Mejía said. “And I’m the only waitress that is bilingual, which has been challenging.”
Over the course of a month, I worked systematically and comprehensively to eat my way through the five rows of stalls, which seemed to get more crowded each week, with a growing diverse array of cuisines. By the beginning of September, a pizza stand had popped up.
The market is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free on Saturdays and $2 on Sundays. Sundays offer the best experience — on Saturdays, many booths lie vacant. Here are Nosh’s recommendations for what to eat, depending on your mood and company.
When you’re hungry
Barbacoa Mejía is riding high following its recognition from the New York Times as one of the best Mexican restaurants in the U.S. While I haven’t combed the country for comparison like the Times food team, I can say the food here is worthy of being the highlight of your weekend plans. The family-run spot is known for its traditional barbacoa, which is hard to find in the Bay Area, and is prepared in the style of owner Omar Mejía’s home state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Lamb is slow-cooked in spices overnight, for meat that is tender, juicy and pull-apart. Order it in taco form, tucked into handmade blue corn tortillas and topped with onions, cilantro and lime, or by the pound to take home. The meat is deeply flavorful, perfectly tender, and not too greasy. It’s especially good paired with the green salsa which offers a bright, herbaceous, and refreshing reprieve from the barbacoa’s meatiness. I also recommend the tlacoyo, a crispy blue corn masa covered in feta, nopales (cactus), cilantro and onions, and filled with cheese or refried beans. If you’re feeling adventurous, order the pancita (tripe with onion, garlic and chile pequin), which is extremely tender, flavorful, and animal-forward.
When you want something sweet
Churros My Fren opens around 10:30 a.m. on weekends, and there is usually a line. Patrons drawn in by the scent of cinnamon and fried dough can opt for a classic churro for $2, churros rellenos (churros filled with sweet sauce), churros with ice cream, a heaping pile of mini churro bites, or the $28 giant churro spiral served in a pizza box. The inside is so moist it is almost wet, and the outside, coated in cinnamon and coarse sugar, is crispy and crackly. After the initial crunch of biting in, the churro literally melts in your mouth. For an extra dollar, get it filled with cajeta, or caramel sauce, for a delightfully rich treat.
When you need a drink
There is no shortage of options for aguas frescas at the Pulga, but of all the ones I tried, by far the best one to grace my lips came from an unassuming stand by the children’s brincolín (a kind of bouncy house). Consisting of three water coolers on a foldout table, the man who handed me my peach agua fresca said his stand has no name. Not too sweet and deliciously thick, the drink had a depth to it that I did not find elsewhere. For the price of $4, it felt like I was drinking a peach.
When you need a snack
In Mexico, botanas are traditional snacks or appetizers to share, and the Richmond Pulga is full of them. They include treats like sliced cucumbers, jicama, or mango dressed up in chili powder and lime juice, fresas con crema (strawberries and cream), and dorilocos – a bag of Doritos split open and filled with marinated peanuts, pork rinds (chicharrones), vegetables, and savory sauces eaten with a fork. But at NM Snacks, I recommend opting for something much simpler — the tamal de elote, or corn tamale. Naturally sweet from freshly ground corn without being grainy or overly dense, it’s the perfect snack to power you through the rest of your flea market perusing. They also make delicious esquites, piping hot oily corn kernels mixed with mayo and topped with cotija cheese and black pepper. Together, these will cost you $10.
When it’s a slow Saturday
Handmade tortillas are the highlight of this abuela-run restaurant attached to the Produce Vega stand. Soft and flavorful, you can watch the women press the dough while breathing in the smells of pollo asada and birria simmering in a pan. The family-run restaurant is open on the market’s sleepier Saturdays, serving up $3 tacos, quesadillas, quesabirria, caldo de res, and various aguas frescas. Eating here is the next best thing to being teleported to a Mexican family kitchen with all of the sights and smells.
When you want pupusas
El Toque Divino is another family-run spot serving traditional El Salvadoran pupusas, sopas, and plates with chicken, tortillas and rice. The portions are large, and at $4 each, the pupusas come with a generous serving of curtido (slaw) that is nicely spiced with oregano. I can recommend the zucchini and the revueltas, which are filled with refried beans, cheese, and pork. The stand is only at the market on Sundays, so if you’re craving pupusas on a Saturday morning, head to Pupuseria la Unica located in the first row a few stalls down. They also serve a traditional Salvadoran breakfast of beans, cheese, eggs, platanos, crema, and tortillas.
When you want tacos
The taco options may seem endless, and thus, overwhelming. Like me, you may be tempted to search the market far and wide, ducking into its sequestered corners and quieter stalls, hoping to discover a secret the proprietors don’t want you to know. It turns out, you don’t have to venture far for good tacos. Some of the market’s best are served at Tacos Don Chuy, a stand right next to the entrance. At $3.50 a piece, the tacos come topped with grilled onions, marinated pinto beans and a sweet tomatillo salsa.
