The Mercado del Norte is the city's main covered food market, a busy hall a few blocks south of Plaza Independencia where you can see the full range of northwestern Argentine produce in one place. Sugar from the local plantations, quesillo and honey from the sierra, dried herbs and spices, salame and chacinados from the surrounding farms, plus stacks of seasonal fruit — papaya, mango, citrus from nearby Famaillá — all pile up under the metal roof.
The market is also where you can sit at a counter for the best cheap empanadas in the city. Tucumán claims to make Argentina's best empanadas, and a stop here is the quickest way to test that boast. Get there in the morning when stalls are at their busiest and the produce is freshest; many traders close in the early afternoon.