If ending with something sweet is important, the cold aguas de cremas have the texture of melting ice cream, voluptuous and thick, flavored with vanilla or coconut. You could share one between two, maybe even three people.

But the market’s essential sweet is a fried platano. Big plantains are deeply browned in oil and served burn-your-mouth hot with a squiggle of salty cream, or stuffed with beans and fried. Either way, the best vendors take their time, slowly turning the fruit in oil until it’s dark and crackled, and the center is as soft and chewy as caramel.

Don’t get your plantain to go. Trapped in a container, it’ll sweat, undoing all that attentive frying. Instead, find a nook where you can wait with the crowd. In a minute or two, the plantain will be cool enough to eat right here.

Guatemalan Night Market, 1834 West 6th Street, Los Angeles; daily starting at 5 p.m.