Mexico’s Kitchen

With its brightly hued baroque-styled buildings, opulent churches, and giant intricate doors, Puebla looks good enough to eat. Mexico’s fourth-largest metropolis and located just 85 miles southeast of Mexico City has long been celebrated for its food, often being called “Mexico’s kitchen.”

This is because of the large amount of culinary offerings located in town - from tacos al pastor to chapulines to mole. You’ll be taken into the past and back into the present solely from eating your way through the city, as many traditional recipes are being reimagined by emerging chefs.

Desayuno

Calle de los Dulces, Puebla.

Breakfast is the most important meal, so we made sure to explore the city’s best cafes and breakfast nooks. Although there is great coffee to be found everywhere (Cafe Mialgro, Tres Gallos, etc.) we had great coffee and a great breakfast at Casa Barroca. Featuring many varieties of chilaquiles, their homemade peanut sauce was to-die-for. If you’re looking for something even more traditional, try their molletes (un bolillo con cecina, which is meat that has been salted and dried).

Calle de los Dulces

Translated as Sweets Street, on this street you can find family-owned bakeries and candy stores brimming with beautifully curated, homemade goods. You can find anything from caramels, coconut treats, waxy skull candies, and camotes, Puebla’s signature treat made from sweet potatoes. We also recommend trying the tortitas de Santa Clara, a frosted shortbread cookie found on nearly every corner.

Cemitas

Cemita de pollo (or cerdo) is a favorite snack or sandwich in Puebla. The word refers to the sandwich as well as the roll it is typically served on, a bread roll covered with sesame seeds. The interesting thing is that there can only be certain ingredients: sliced avocado, meat (milanesa style or breaded), white cheese, onions, and pápalo, an herb. You can then add chiles or red peppers in escabeche. Perhaps before or after visiting Uriarte Talavera to get a tour of the facilities and how they make the pottery, head to Mercado de Sabores and take your pick at one of the many cemita food stands.

Tacos

Puebla is an eclectic city, hailing from a range of cultures. Immigrants from the Middle East exhibit their culture in various ways, especially in the culinary scene, mixing Mexican flavors with cooking techniques brought from Iraq, Turkey, and Lebanon in the 19th century. Tacos árabes is a local favorite. Made with lime, chipotle-seasoned pork (gyro style), and pita bread. Although one of the first restaurants to serve them was Antigua Taquería La Oriental, we recommend going to a place more preferred by the locals called Tacos Bagdad in the Centro.

Mole

Pronounced mol-ay, mole is a traditional sauce use for meat and vegetarian dishes that actually originated in the nunneries, a result of the sisters hoping to please their superiors. In a city of almost 400 churches, it is easy to see how nuns would dedicate themselves to cooking to pass the time and create delicious recipes. Prepared from a combination of ingredients, such as chocolate, ancho chiles, peanuts, raisins, and sesame seeds, each version of mole is a chef’s secret recipe. One restaurant that serves some of the city’s finest mole is El Mural de los Poblanos. Everything from traditional mole to pipián verde, a green mole made with pumpkin seeds, is served. Can’t decide? We went with the degustación, which gave us a sample of all five moles.

La Pasita

The city center’s oldest cantina, La Pasita, is almost 60 years old. The owners invented a sweet, potent raisin liqueur that is served in a shot-size tequila glass known as a caballito. The popular drink, called pasita (“little raisin”), is garnished with a small cube of cheese and a raisin. The bar also offers artisanal drinks, divided into three categories: beginner, intermediate, and professional. Each drink is made from a variety of ground almonds, eggs, rum, cinnamon, milk, and sugar. La Pasita has two locations that are open from 1PM - 5:30PM only.

Red, white, and green

Representing the colors on the Mexican flag, chiles en nogada is one of Mexico’s most patriotic dishes. This dish is typically served from July to September 16th, Mexican Independence Day. Poblano pepper filled with picadillo (minced meat and dried fruit), the dish is then smothered with creamy walnut sauce and topped with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and parsley. If you are in Puebla during the summer months, this national dish is a must-eat! One of our favorite restaurants is at CasaReyna Hotel. Although more on the expensive side, the food and atmosphere were unforgettable.

Interested in visiting Puebla? Join us in Mexico City and extend your trip! Puebla is located less than 2-hours south of the city center. Check out our Mexico City trip and let us know if you have any questions on upcoming trip dates. We’d love to have you join us!

Rayner with a cemita de pollo at Mercado de los Sabores, Puebla.