Mi Tierra, Seaside

After I bought my 3rd and 4th scoops of ice cream from Baskin Robbins during their 31 cent cone promotion, I giddily ran back to my car. Perhaps it was the sugar coursing through my veins or maybe it was just because of my fondness for legitimate mercados - regardless, I decided to pop across the street and check out Mi Tierra Taqueria (also a Mercado y Carniceria) (1000 Broadway Ave, Seaside).

I really liked the inside of this place. Compared to Mi Pueblo in Mountain View, they have a much wider selection of pre-made salsas and ceviche stuff:

- Seasoned Pork Ears $4.40/lb.
- Seasoned Pork Feet $2.69/lb.
- Cactus Salad $3.49/lb.
- Ceviche de Camaron $5.99/lb.
- Salsa de Guacamole $4.99/lb.
- Salsa Mexicana $2.99/lb.
- and... Salsa Verde, Roja, Molcajete (<- anyone know what that is?)




They also have a more extensive butcher bar. I'm guessing that's where the carniceria part comes in...

Beef tendons, beef tongue, marinated pork, pork marinated steak (how does that differ from the one before??), marinated chicken, marinated flap meat, pozole mix (??), patas de puerco (??), pork leg, higado de res (??), beef intestine, cornish, marinated chicken leg, etc!

Enough talk about random animal parts! There was a taqueria in the back of the store, I didn't check out the prices, but I'm sure they were reasonable...

I ventured over to the fruit area and that's where I stayed and ate my ice cream - that's correct, I was not eating my ice cream and staring at the beef tongue display. Instead my mind was whirling around the Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge. I wanted to use Haitian flavors such as mangos and plantains, but I was unsure which to pick and how much I should grab. I used my iPhone a bit and decided to purchase a couple of plantains, a papaya, and a few mangos. (Or is it mangoes?) I also bought a coconut creme that I'd like to integrate into a coconut recipe some day, some chocolate wedges for Mexican hot chocolate (used some in the billiard ball cupcakes I made for my dad), and sugar cane (<- impulse buy! NO IDEA what I'm going to do with it). It was a fun place to shop, cheap, I'll definitely go back to find secret/mystery ingredients!