The Mercado Jáuregui is the city's main covered market — a sprawling building of stalls selling fresh produce, meat, cheese, and prepared food in the Mexican market tradition. For travellers, the food stalls at the back are the main draw: market women serving chalupas (small oval masa cakes with salsa and toppings), chileatole, and bowls of caldito (a clear broth served as breakfast in Veracruz). Prices are very cheap, portions generous, and the atmosphere is the genuine pulse of daily Xalapan life.
The cheese stalls are worth a browse even if you don't intend to buy: Veracruz produces several distinctive cheeses, including the crumbly quesillo-style string cheese that wraps in long ribbons, and the salty, aged queso añejo. The best time to visit is morning, when the stalls are at their fullest and the breakfast options are at their widest. The market is two blocks north of Parque Juarez.