Mi Tierra Is a Grande Mexican Grocery and Restaurant

I am through with calling restaurants “authentic” so I’ll just warn you: There are no chips and salsa on the table at Mi Tierra Marisqueria & Taqueria. And if you ask for something not exactly like it is on the menu, expect it to be wrong. Everyone’s treated politely by the waitstaff, but typically with a chuckle when casual Spanish speakers order the cool-sounding lengua taco to find it’s beef tongue in a tortilla.

The place is a grande Mexican grocery with a good size restaurant inside. Last time I went, there was laughter, there were families, there was a bad direct-to-video Jean-Claude Van Damme movie on the widescreens. (Usually it’s soccer, but the season is over and I guess the next best thing is watching a Belgian kickboxer’s lips flap to overdubbed Spanish?)

The menu is extensive with a huge emphasis on seafood with shrimp and tilapia everywhere. The sea-fare cocteles (cocktails) and caldos (soups) are big enough to be appetizers for the table. People rave about the fish tacos, but if you’re celebrating something you might try the Fajitas Mi Tierra with chicken, steak, shrimp, green peppers, roasted jalapeños, onions, lettuce, beans, and rice. It’s dinner, tomorrow’s lunch, and possibly two midnight snacks. Personally, I can’t get past putting green sauce on the chile rellenos, which may be the best around.

I took a friend here for his birthday. He ordered octopus so fresh it looked like it was moving a few minutes earlier. He said it was exquisite, but I made him sit at the next table over. Some things might be too fresh.

Mi Tierra, 1770 E. Kemper Rd., Sharonville, (513) 648-9498