El Mezquite Market

The Positives:
–the variety of meat cuts is awesome.
–prices of meats and most fruits and vegetables
–helpful employees
–meats look fresh. Though the meat/​seafood department really smells strongly of meat, it was not unpleasant to me
–huge parking lot
The Negatives:
–some items do not have pricetags. I bought a small package of strawberries and when the cashier scanned it, it was at $ 4.99 as compared to Walmart’s $ 1.99! I should have not bought it but the cashier was scanning through my groceries too fast.
–difficulty of understanding English by some employees
–sketchy parking lot. Lots of banged-​up cars. I would not feel safe going here at night
Overall, I would still comeback for the incredible prices of most items.

They sell different meats you can’t really get elsewhere, oxtail, tongue, etc., and a wide variety of Mexican products. Food court place is good and cheap as well.

Love this store when I need Latin ingredients! Good veggie prices, unusual items, interesting meat counter including pulpo (octopus), ostiones (oysters, fresh), offal and more. Offal is not awful, when prepared correctly, it’s rather tasty!!! Sorry, couldn’t help it!
I just bought some house-​made habanero salsa. OMG, it was delicious, fresh and intense! This is not for wimps! You can find it towards the back of the store close to the meats, in their deli. They usually have about 8 different salsas out to try. The salsas for sale are not under the tasting station but you’ll find them. Very interesting salsas. I like to make my own but the next time I have to go to a party, I think I’ll pick some up here. They’ll be a big hit.
Another thing they have are house-​made butter tortillas! Those are too good!
About the salsa… very generous with habaneros. I can see that they used some manzano chile because of the black seeds in the salsa. Manzano chiles are a close relative of the habanero. This salsa is packed with some fantastic heat and I like heat! (I’ve eaten ghost peppers.) So all you pepperheads, go try their salsas!

Wonderful food in the little café area. Store is spotlessly clean, lots of good products, and what is likely the very best meat counter in ABQ.

We have been shopping here several times and I always wanted to try the food at the Mexican Cantina. This is Mexican food, not New Mexican. There are no smothered burritos here, from what I saw. Hunger and time merged and we decided this was a good option. I do not know what was stopping me, the food had smelled wonderful before. Was it a faux pas for a white chick to eat at a usually all Mexican cafeteria? You pick what you want at each station (with the servers help). The line starts with BBQ meats such as 5.99 a lb ready to eat pork ribs. Tamales and tacos are amazing and 1.50 ea. True Mexican workers food. There are an array of meats that you can choose to have as tacos we went with shredded beef. II think they have Tongue Chitlins are Tripe, but I am not that brave. The sides of beans and rice were not to be missed and I love a pork tamale sopped up with refried beans. Jaritos sodas are 1 $ chilled. You also get 6 tortillas when you buy the ribs and you can make little sandwiches. At the end of the line there is a salsa bar. Tamales were some of the best I have had in town. My boyfriend who does not enjoy them as much as me said they were some of the best he has had. Pork ribs were falling off the bone and not soggy or greasy. They are almost a cured meat.
For 15 dollars 2 can eat a quick and delicious lunch.
After lunch we ran around the store and got a strawberry shortcake to bring home for 4 $. This has real whipped cream and the sponge cake was made perfectly.
If you are buying Mexican ingredients this place is inexpensive. Why would you buy north western groceries, when you are shopping at a Mexican grocery store? I go there to buy cheap tortillas, awesome house made salsa (Salsa Mexicana and The red Tomitillio are my favorites) and the many kinds of Queso Fresco that are hard to source elsewhere. Produce can be a good deal too.
If you want a demented Piñata and some candy there is a whole aisle dedicated to Mexican sweeties. Next time I send my family a care package back in NH they are getting some Hobo pops in it. I do not know what these are, but I love the marketing and artwork on the bag. I wondered– am I supposed to hand these out to people I meet living in boxcars? Surely I will bring a Piñata back up to the Northeast next time I go home. I recommend this gesture for anyone wanting to bring joy into adults or children lives. Last time my family dog got very upset as I smashed the effigy of an elephant.
If you are white, you will be the minority, and I kind of like that. Everyone is friendly/​tolerant, and isn’t that what food and eating does? It makes us recognize a common joy. How can one argue over the common bond of food. A man at the cafeteria asked us where we were from. We said NH. He had also commented he could tell we really enjoyed our food here. Then asked us for ideas of parks and things to take his son instead of the mall. I said the Zoo might be nice today. Lets do culture a favor and break down some social boundaries by indulging in restaurants or places that we may not otherwise venture.

5-​stars for their pork soft tacos. I loved how most of the workers and customers spoke primarily Spanish. I got what I needed quickly, soft tacos, Tecate light and birthday candles! Great customer service.

This is my go-​to place for most of my Hispanic food needs. A reasonable selection of groceries, and so-​so meats. But a great selection of vegetables, chilis, beans, and Hispanic baked goods. Also really good prices. Not the fanciest place in the world — okay, it’s a bit run down. But if you need anything for that Mexican dish, this is the place for you!

This market specializes in Mexican products and caters to a Mexican audience, which generally I’d be excited about as it would mean a wealth of hard-​to-​find products that aren’t always common stateside. In fact, you will find a lot of cool products, an impressive meat department, cheese department, and even a hot taco bar (which I’ve yet to try). All that is great and really drew me to this place initially. However, I am not in any way impressed by the prices for items here. In some cases, they seem downright exploitative, much like what I’ve seen at Talin, prices that seem to recognize that there’s a whole swath of people desperate for those products that remind them of home. Now, this may all just be supply and demand, and if so, fair enough. But for someone like me who’s not exactly clamoring for any one item here, I can easily turn to other supermarkets to get the things I need. And that I do, since I hadn’t been here for months.
I came back recently looking for some rompope, a Mexican liqueur that is good around Christmas time, and picked up a bottle for around $ 11. Surprisingly, this was the first time I felt I wasn’t getting ripped off in here.
I do like the wealth of beers and liquors from Mexico on display here, although it’s a shadow of its former self (not much money left for alcohol after buying food here) and not nearly diverse as it was even six months ago.