Morning Coffee

One of the most famous coffee shops in all of Mexico is "La Parroquía de Veracruz" which for more than ninety years has been a gathering place in the Gulf port of Veracruz.  "La Parroquía" now has branches throughout the country and serves meals as well as coffee.  I have been to a couple of branches in the Historic Center of Mexico City, but I noticed on my last trip that they opened another one just a short distance from my apartment.  

I am not a big coffee drinker, and the food at "La Parroquía" is nothing special.  However I do like "café lechero" which is the specialty of the house.  "Café lechero" is similar to the French "café au lait".  Steamed milked is added to a small amount of very strong coffee.  

On Sunday Alejandro and I went out for breakfast.  We didn't want a heavy meal, and I had not had "café lechero" in a long time.  So we walked to the nearby "La Parroquía".  The place is very modern, and has none of the atmosphere of the original in Veracruz or the branches in the Historic Center.  

However, tradition is followed when it comes to the "café lechero".  The coffee is served in a glass.  The waiter comes with the kettle of milk and makes a big production of pouring it into the glass.

The custom in Veracruz is that you tap the glass with your spoon when you want another one.  I didn't hear any clinking at this branch.  The crowd here was rather young; they probably don't know the tradition.

Our waiter was quite a character.  "It's just like being in Veracruz looking out at the beach," he joked as he pointed toward the traffic on busy Insurgentes Avenue.