Market mornings in Oaxaca
Notes on mole, mezcal, and the ten-block breakfast walk that ruined every other city for me.
Nora Alviar
Writer & photographer
Cover: Roberto Carlos Román Don / Unsplash
Breakfast in Oaxaca is a route, not a meal. You start with chocolate at Mayordomo, which is less about the drink than about the smell — cinnamon and toasted cacao hitting the sidewalk before you’ve turned the corner.
The route
From Mayordomo, walk to Mercado 20 de Noviembre. The women at the tamale counter will not smile at you until the third visit, which is fair.
You do not eat mole; you agree to it.
By the fifth morning I knew which stall had the best tejate and which one just had the loudest sign. This is the only meaningful form of expertise a traveler can develop.
The Dispatch
One letter, every other Sunday.
A short essay from wherever I am, three things worth reading, and one restaurant I'd send a friend to. No affiliate links, no pop-ups.
2,400+ readers · Unsubscribe anytime
