As a kid, I was always told not to eat seafood in landlocked places.

It’s one of those old wives’ tales insinuating that all fresh seafood in a region must come from the nearest ocean, and that the further from it you happen to be, the less fresh the fish.

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Maybe this was true in the 1990s and before but not so much nowadays; improvements in commercial shipping have made it possible to have fish fresh off the boat anywhere in the world the same day of the catch. I’ve had some of the best nigiri of my life in Bozeman, Montana, and I’ve had some killer Mexican seafood right here in Memphis, Tennessee.

Carbon footprint and environmentalist cognitive dissonance aside, fresh seafood on demand might be the best thing since sliced bread.

Mariscos Sinaloa is a rinky-dink, nautical-themed restaurant on the corner of Summer Avenue and Bartlett Road, sharing a parking lot with a beauty salon and a piñata store. Across the blue walls are paintings and murals depicting epic scenes of sealife. Among them hang fake taxidermy marlins and a faux jade wall. 

And if the endearing kitsch isn’t enough to draw you in, the food will.

The Mexican state of Sinaloa is infamous for its seafood. Situated east of Baja, its prime real estate has birthed the likes of iconic dishes such as aguachile, a ceviche-like crudo of raw shrimp or fish drowned in a liquid made of lime, chiles and cilantro.

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The abundance of fresh fish in the region is the highlight of the food at Mariscos Sinaloa, hence the name. And keeping with tradition, the menu itself is a treasure trove of the sea. Offerings like jaiba (blue crab), pulpo (octopus) and callo de almeja (clam muscle) grace the menu in many forms, from empanadas to tostadas. There are also classic Mexican non-seafood items, like carne asada.

With four pages to peruse, the menu can induce decision paralysis. But there’s a way through, as there always is: Treat it like tapas.

While there are plenty of large-scale seafood dishes at Mariscos Sinaloa great for sharing, I often enjoy sharing many small plates among two or three people even more. Why? You’ll get to order more stuff for the same money, if not cheaper, more often than not. Plus, it’s more fun. Passing plates around bite-for-bite is an interactive way to eat, and I’m all about hands-on.

We started with an octopus tostada ($9), shrimp empanadas ($3.90 each) and carne asada tacos ($3). 

The tostada is a ceviche of sliced octopus, tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro tossed with lime juice and salt and served with avocado over a crispy corn tortilla. It’s hand-held, but shareable nonetheless, and the octopus is briny and sweet.

The golden-brown empanadas are fried hard and served with lettuce, tomato, onion and a thick sauce made of mayo and ketchup (this is common in Latin America — it’s a lot better than it sounds). The shrimp is succulent and juicy and stuffed generously into the crispy pocket. I could have eaten much more than one.

Finally, for the seafood-averse and audacious eaters alike, Mariscos Sinaloa makes a surprisingly perfect street carne asada taco on this fish-forward menu. The steak is chopped fine and seared hard and crispy for maximum Maillard reaction. It’s an absolute delight with a dollop of diced onions and the bottomless table salsa Mariscos Sinaloa serves with baskets of chips.

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Mariscos Sinaloa has plenty more to offer under $10, including salads, shrimp rolls and oysters on the half shell, so there’s plenty to try with a small group. 

But, I would be remiss to write about this place without mentioning their signature dish, which stands proudly in a large photo in the middle of their menu: El Torre de Mariscos Gigante.

The Torre, literally a giant seafood tower, is a tall and thick cylinder layered with raw butterflied shrimp, slices of octopus, tomatoes, onions, avocado and cucumber. It’s drizzled in a sauce made from Maggi — that savory, soy sauce-like, yellow-labeled sauce — and surrounded by poached head-on prawns.

While it’s $25, and not a $10 Deal, it’s an absolute behemoth of an entree for a couple or more with a serious appetite for seafood. It’s a serious dish and an even more serious sight to behold.

Mariscos Sinaloa, located at 5040 Summer Ave., is open Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.