Mariscos Mazatlan Taqueria Mi Tierra

This place is located within the somewhat newly opened Westgate Marketplace, which is a collection of shops within what used to be an Albertson’s grocery store.
In general, I’m pretty hesistant to eat at any shopping center food facility because A) it’s usually not that good and B) always seems overpriced. But, after walking around for awhile, I soon realized I needed to eat something, so why not put my best Unilocal face forward and take one for the team?
Well, the Mariscos Mazatlan/​Taqueria Mi Tierra (I didn’t know quite what to call it because both names are on the front of this booth) is pretty much the only restaurant in the place and is more of a typical Mexican taqueria than Tex-​Mex restaurant. That means if you’re expecting psuedo Mexican food like Nachos and 3 lb vegetarian burritos, you’re out of luck.
Some of the many items they serve include ceviche, sopes, quesadillas and menudo. However, I tried the tacos al pastor, a mole torta, and jamaica aguas fresca on my visit.
The al pastor tacos were complimented by diced mango and grilled onions with your choice of tortilla. Both types do not appear to be handmade, though. Overall, the tacos were decent in taste, but a little less flavorful than you would think they might be.
The torta was pretty huge – about the same size as a small loaf of bread – and filled with chicken mole, lettuce, refried beans, and Oaxacan cheese. Again, decent flavor but not outstanding. The mole also lacked a strong, defining flavor. One big problem both dishes had was bit too much grease and the flavors suffered because of it. Still, both were quite edible, though, just not the best I’ve ever had.
The aguas fresca was good. «Jamaica» seems like one of those flavors that’s kind of hard to find, so props for including that along with the other 3 or 4 varieties.
So how about the prices, you ask? A couple of tacos (at $ 4 for two), a torta ($ 4), and the aguas fresca (around $ 3), ended up costing around $ 12 with tax. It’s not exhorbitant, but there are, quite possibly, 20 other taquerias within a 5 mile radius with prices cheaper than that. For lunch anywhere, though, that’s pretty reasonable
To sum up, if you’re in the neighborhood, or maybe at the shopping center, this isn’t necessarily a bad lunch option. Just be prepared, though, because it’s not the best Mexican food you’ll ever have.