get the horchata berlinesa
Bon Appetit names Michelin-recognized Houston cafe to best breakfast list
Casaema is once again in the national spotlight.
Houston’s favorite new breakfast destination is basking in the national spotlight. Bon Appetit included Casaema (formerly known as Ema) as one of 14 restaurants in an article titled “These New Restaurants Are Waking Up the Breakfast Menu.”
Open since March 2024, Casaema is an ode to Mexico City cafes created by chefs Stephanie Velasquez and Nicholas Veras along with their business partner, coffee roaster Marlén Mendoza. Anchored by Valesquez’s pastries — which won her Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards — and Vera’s savory dishes like the fan-favorite mushroom tetela and confit carrot taco, Casaema has already earned wide national acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide and a mention in the New York Times for its signature horchata berlinesa.
“Inside an airy, modern dining room flooded with light from tall windows, chef Nicolas Vera and pastry chef Stephanie Velasquez reward patience with a satisfying menu focused on ingredients native to Mexico,” staff writer Sam Stone writes. Noting the line diners will likely endure on the weekends, Stone mentions the carrot taco, horchata berlinesa, and French toast.
The magazine also included Austin’s Mercado Sin Nombre. Stone hails the restaurant’s dishes, which are made from heirloom Mexican corn that’s nixtamalized on-site.
“One morning, you’ll fall in love with an egg sandwich doused with devilishly spicy hot sauce and cradled between two halves of an earthy blue corn masa biscuit. The next, it’ll be the standout masa dessert inspired by a Twinkie, filled with chili-tinged chocolate ganache, and finished with a swirl of toasted marshmallow,” he writes.
The list also includes Comedor Nishi in La Jolla, California, Mémoire Cà Phê in Portland, Oregon, and Norm’s Diner in Detroit.
“As American breakfast morphs and expands to encompass morning rituals the world over, our first meal of the day has become something we seek out and treat with deserved respect,” restaurant editor Elazar Sontag writes in the article’s introduction. Later, he continues, While the restaurants on this list aren’t above French toast and pancakes, they bring something new to even the most well-trodden dishes.”
