The Mercado Escobedo is Querétaro's main covered market and the best place to eat cheaply in the city. Inside, a long row of fondas — market restaurants — serves traditional Queretano food from early morning until mid-afternoon: enchiladas queretanas (topped with a mild guajillo-chile sauce and fresh cheese), gorditas, carnitas, and pozole. The food is cooked to order by women who have often been working the same stall for decades.
Arrive by 10am for the best selection and the liveliest atmosphere. A full lunch with a soft drink costs well under 100 pesos. The market also has stalls selling vegetables, herbs, dried chiles, cheese, and sweets — worth walking through even if you are not hungry. It is the working-class counterpart to the tourist restaurants around the Plaza de Armas, and considerably more interesting.