The first step to making authentic Mexican cooking is a trip to Marissa's Supermarket, a one-stop shop for traditional Mexican foods. The store always carries plenty of ripe avocados; poblanos, serranos, and other chiles; tomatillos; and Mexican green onions (sweeter than scallions, with a bigger bulb). You'll also find nopales (cactus), Mexican spices, a huge variety of beans, spicy pickled jalapeños, fideo (Mexican pasta), and all the cheeses you'll need in Mexican cuisine, including queso fresco, cotija, oaxaca, and panela. The butcher counter at Marissa's offers cuts of meat not available at other places, such as arracherra (thin slices of flank steak), cecina (a type of spice jerk rib eye), and chicharron (pork rinds). You can get corn husks and real masa for making tamales and tortillas (for which you can buy a tortilla press as well), and items from Marissa's Bakery next door are also available in the supermarket, such as bolero for making tortas, pan dulces, and the freshest tortillas of every variety. Finally, the murals inside the store are fantastic, making Marissa's not only a place to get the best authentic Mexican ingredients but an art excursion as well.