At 8 a.m., the line at Casa Myz snakes out the door of its Cholula storefront. The air smells of toasted chiles and fresh-squeezed lime. A regular orders chilaquiles con mole ($160), their eyes lighting up at the first bite. 'It’s the duck broth that makes them unforgettable,' says one customer, a yoga instructor who’s been coming since the shop opened three years ago.
The menu here defies expectations. Alongside the legendary chilaquiles ($140–$160), you’ll find vegan bowls stacked with quinoa and jackfruit, plus 12 types of house-made juice. The prices feel steep for a coffee shop—$100–200 for a breakfast plate—but the $65 espresso con leche is worth the splurge. Open late Wednesdays and Thursdays, it’s a post-work happy hour spot where creatives sketch in journals and the hum of conversation drowns out the rain.
A week later, I’m in Puebla city’s historic center, where Caffe Toscano’s espresso machine hisses like a mechanical animal. The owner, an Italian expat with a thick Roman accent, pulls shots so concentrated they taste like liquid velvet. 'Try the affogato,' he says, sliding over a glass of vanilla gelato drowned in $50 worth of steaming ristretto. The tiramisu ($80) is a technical marvel—layers of ladyfingers soaked in coffee liqueur, dusted with cocoa, and topped with a house-made mascarpone that’s less sweet than you’d expect.
What makes these places work isn’t just the food. Casa Myz’s $35 vegan tortilla de berros (arugula, avocado, and quinoa) arrives on a ceramic plate with edible flowers. At Caffe Toscano, the sourdough starter has been fermenting in a mason jar since 2021. 'It’s like a family member now,' one barista says. Both cafes have their weaknesses—Casa Myz closes by 5 p.m. Mondays, and Caffe Toscano’s pastries can be dry—but they’re still the best places in town to watch the light change from morning gold to afternoon gray.
