Tijuana Seafood - Tacos Kokopelli, El Mazateno, Erizo

We were back in Tijuana this past Saturday for our second weekend in a row. This time we went on a progressive seafood meal organized by Turista Libre and Life&Food.

When we ate at the Tacos Kokopelli stand at last weekend's Baja Beer Fest, I thought their name seemed familiar. It turns out that they were our first stop on this trip.



Tacos Kokopelli is a little stand in front of a print shop a few blocks south and east of the tourist stretch on Revolución.

We had two of the same tacos we had last weekend - the "Kraken" (grilled octopus) and the Marlin Pibil. They were even better this time around.



We got the octopus served inside a green chile before being wrapped in the corn tortilla. The chile not only adds great flavor, but it also acts as a barrier to help keep your taco from falling apart. We may have to steal this technique when making tacos at home.

Our second stop was El Mazateño - a Sinaloan seafood restaurant. The place was surprisingly large inside and was bustling with activity.



We first tried a cup of their shrimp broth - rich, quite spicy and a great way to whet your appetite:



Then the main event - their famous camarón enchilado (spicy shrimp) taco:



Not overly hot, but very flavorful and a generous portion. We piled them up with the provided pico de gallo, shredded cabbage and sauces and got down to the serious business of trying to eat the tacos before they self destructed.

Our last seafood stop was Erizo Baja Fish House and Market - one of the places run by Baja Med restaurateur Javier Plascencia.



We relaxed in the comfortable, modern space and enjoyed fish and mango tostadas:



I'm not always a fan of fruit and seafood mixed together, but this tostada was fantastic. Everything was perfectly seasoned and the brightness of the mango went very well with the fish (a ceviche of Cabichuco - a type of white sea bass).

That was the end of the seafood portion of the program - now it was time for dessert!



Tepoznieves is an ice cream chain originating in Tepoztlán - a small town outside of Mexico city. They carry a ridiculous number of flavors - ranging from the standard favorites to the bizarre.



I went relatively conservative - pistachio, coconut with gin, and mangolin (mango with red chile):



My favorite of the flavors I tried was the mangolin (hidden at the bottom of the cup pictured above). It reminded me of an ice cream version of the fresh mango with chile you can get from street vendors all over Mexico.

We highly recommend all of the places we stopped on this trip, and more importantly, we recommend that you get yourself down to Tijuana.

Tacos Kokopelli
Avenida Ocampo near the corner of Bulevar Agua Caliente
Tijuana

Mariscos El Mazateño
Calzada Tecnologico, No. 473
Tomas Aquino
Tijuana

Erizo Baja Fish House and Market
Ave. Sonora 3808
Tijuana
686-28-95

Tepoznieves
Sánchez Taboada 10737
Tijuana