Must Go: Cafe Max

My newest coffeeshop ideal? Cafe Max, a design- and food-focused oasis on the hurried corner of Colfax and Josephine. Despite the din of city life outside, the cafe feels unruffled and serene—as if it stepped from the airy pages of Kinfolk.

The food and drink offerings are thoughtful and well conceived. There’s one pared-down menu that spans morning to evening where goat’s milk lattes and hot cocoa made with bitter chocolate mix with buttery vegetable-cheese frittatas and mini green tea madeleine cookies.

The matcha latte is respectable but not as special as this one. Instead, my vote goes to the decadent café con leche, which arrives with a shiny sprinkle of salt. The addition snaps the coffee’s caramel-like flavors into focus.

Pair any drink with the honey cornbread (pictured). More dessert than crumbly quick-bread, this wedge has an almost puddinglike texture. It needs neither butter nor honey, and it must be eaten with a fork.

Cafe Max is a standout but that’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement: I’d love to see the Brie—which appears with a baguette and fig spread and in a pressed sandwich with prosciutto—swapped out with a more interesting, dare I say local, option.

2412 E. Colfax Ave. 303-333-0003

Follow food editor Amanda M. Faison on Twitter at @5280Eats and on Pinterest.