5 things to try from the Coliseum Way food vendors

On a muggy Saturday in August, along Coliseum Way a block away from the Oakland flea market, the weekday smells of diesel exhaust and the rumble of construction crews have been replaced with aromas from clay pots bubbling with a variety of delectable dishes, competing scents of lengua, and al pastor meats, and cheese oozing from quesadillas and searing itself on the griddle while salsa and Norteña rhythms pulse from a wall-mounted speaker.

This cluster, located in a large industrial area, is lined with food stands along 50th Avenue and wraps around Coliseum Way. A handful of vendors — makeshift stands, modified storage containers, tarps covering patches of sidewalk — set up shop during the week. But the corridor is the busiest on weekends, especially Sundays, as families flock to the flea