Lugya’h, the counter inside Maydan Market run by Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez and Odilia Romero, began opening Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this month at 8 a.m. Their improvisational morning menu will draw from the cuisine of Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte and the Indigenous cooking of Martinez’s Zapotec culture.
The anchor dish, though, is certain: breakfast tacos.
All in on Maydan Market this week
I demolished a plate of them last weekend. Breakfast at Lugya’h was a late development during weekly meals I’ve had at Maydan Market over the last few months. The thrilling, overwhelming possibilities kept me returning. It all came together this week in two stories in The Times: A review of Maydan L.A., the sit-down restaurant operated by the market’s creator, Rose Previte, and a ranking of my top 10 favorite dishes so far among the other six fast-casual operators occupying the 10,0000-square-foot space.
When we reach the 2030s in nearly three and a half years, I’m betting Previte’s West Adams project will stand as one of the most important culinary arrivals during this fraught decade.
The idea of fancy food halls always seems to stir the brain’s pleasure systems. So many cuisines, so many chefs, so many possibilities! But mostly, these concepts disappoint and fizzle. They tend to smack of commercial developers looking to add instant shine to their latest multi-use complexes. In the too-often mid quality of the food, one feels the marquee vendors only half-present in their efforts. Maydan Market is … not that.
Lamb shoulder rubbed with Lebanese seven spice and sumac at Maydan L.A.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
What makes the market a rarity
Not enough has been said about the sumptuous atmosphere Previte has created, partnering with architecture and design firms that include NCA Studio based in downtown Los Angeles. Colors and shapes from tiles, fabrics, Moroccan lamps and hanging plants saturate the place. The aesthetics for every vendor vary to subtly evoke landscapes or cuisines or moods. It’s a lot to take in, richly so.
Most meaningfully, the market taps into a wellspring of L.A.’s culture that makes it singular: the ephemeral.
Previte gives the city something special by partnering with two street food icons. Lugya’h builds on the renown of Martinez and Romero’s Poncho’s Tlayudas; the celebrated and namesake specialty was previously available only Friday nights on a South L.A. lawn. Maléna revives the Afro-Mexican cooking of Tamales Elena y Antojitos, the short-lived spinoff of long-running Tamales Elena in Watts. Both center the recipes of Maria Elena Lorenzo and the specific Afro-Mexican cooking of Costa Chica from Guerrero along Mexico’s southern shores.
The many design elements create a visually immersive environment at Maydan Market.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
To tackle Martinez’s crackling masterpiece, or to sip pozole verde and crunch into pescadillas made by Lorenzo’s daughters, isn’t to experience their histories as facsimile. It’s their hands, their livelihoods now in this place.
Pop-ups are another major pipeline connecting and feeding our creativity. The counter in the market’s far right corner, dubbed Club 104, is reserved for emerging talents, changing every few weeks (sometimes sooner). As with the city’s other pop-ups, we tend to learn about who’s there and what they’re serving via social media. Follow the market’s Instagram account to learn about the incoming Syrian chef following an outgoing Persian counterpart, and to learn about collaborative dinners, like the one happening Monday featuring Martinez, Previte and Indigenous food activist and cookbook author Sean Sherman.
Maydan Market is also a business. Its painted Moroccan doors opened in October, and the assembly of talent needed time to settle in and fine-tune their cooking. I bring visitors to the market. Reactions have changed noticeably from “Oh, I see, yeah, this is nice” at the end of the year to “Wow, this is amazing, OK, L.A.” in the last few weeks. If you swung by early and haven’t returned, trust me when I say there’s been an evolution.
Lebanese breakfast at Compass Rose is the market’s other great morning option.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Including the breakfast tacos at Lugya’h.
Martinez begins with griddled corn tortillas, thin as crepes, using masa freshly milled and nixtamalized by Fátima Juárez at her outstanding molino Komal inside Mercado La Paloma. Slow-simmered, oregano-scented black beans; lacy quesillo; and a spare, just-right amount of greens comprise the basic fillings.
Among additional options is moronga, the exceptional blood sausage based on a recipe that was a wedding gift to Martinez from Romero’s father. Its secrets have been passed down through four generations. Martinez has always set it alongside his tlayudas. It’s unusual — and very Oaxacalifornia, as Romero says — to chop into bits for tacos. Its herbal qualities taste wonderful with eggs in the tacos.
Same with eggs stained ruddy by chorizo, the other sausage Martinez serves alongside tlayudas. Meat-free in the morning? There will be seasonal vegetable variations too.
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