Tienda Y Carniceria La Marqueta

Well, they finally got rid of the «gas station» that was nonfunctional forever. They have a ton of stuff. It’s not a huge place like Compare Foods, but it does the trick for me, as it is walking distance from my house. They have all the tropical fruits that are in season, like guavas, papayas, mangoes, tuna (prickly pear cactus fruits), aloe vera, prickly pear cactus pads (mmm… nopales), and stuff like that. They have a big tortilla machine that makes them fresh right in front of you (but don’t try to take a picture, for some reason they don’t like that), and the refrigerated section with sugar cane juice, guayaba juice (though I have yet to figure out what the heck a guayaba is), mango smoothies, pina coladas, etc. Then, there is the meat section. I’m a little scared of the meat section. Mostly, it smells kinda funny. And the fish still have their heads. (which I know is just squeamishness) But, it is very cheap and the tamarind candies were good until I realized I was allergic to tamarind. :(But they have these amazing baked goods that are like sweet bread that isn’t sweet enough to be cake but isn’t quite bread either. It’s really good.
Summary: Sketch place with funky meats but good selection of exotic other stuff.

«Small neighborhood Mexican grocery store»
This unassuming little place has a great assortment of Mexican goodies: fresh meats, vegetables, and various packaged goods. We like it for various Mexican goodies like churros, fresh tortillas (they have a big machine that makes them on site), plantains (at any stage of ripeness– far more than regular grocery stores), peppers, spices, popsicles, tamarind candies, various canned items, etc. LOTS of phone cards, too. Personally, I have never gotten the meats, and that section of the store sometimes smells a little funny, but the rest is great.
They have a big Exxon sign and some gas pumps outside, but it’s all nonfunctional– there’s an «operational» Exxon station two doors down across the street.
Staff are quite friendly, too. A-​OK overall.