Cafe Du Monde and New Orleans

This photo was taken at the Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans.

A food lover always finds good places to eat. Before I had a chance to visit New Orleans, Debarshi always used to talk about the food and architecture of that city and I used to wonder what could be so unique about that small city that makes everyone talk about it. Not only our friends but also the ‘Food Channel’ stars drool all over the name of New Orleans. So you can understand my excitement when I found out that we are finally going to Naw-Lins.

I found that New Orleans is a place with a rich variety of food and the best part is you can literally walk into any restaurant and they will serve you a 5 star restaurant quality food. We tried some of the famous dishes of New Orleans like Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffee, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Muffulettas, Po- Boys and Beignets. The chefs of New Orleans take great pride in preparing and serving the food and it suffices to say the food speaks for itself. It’s a food lovers heaven, everything and anything you eat is just so succulent.



If you are planning a trip to New Orleans make sure to stay in the French Quarter. The city is thickly populated with tourists and locals and it is not possible to travel in a car. Also, the architecture of the city is so beautiful that you do not want to miss it by sitting inside a car. Staying in French Quarter gives you the edge to travel anywhere on foot. I suggest wearing comfortable shoes and taking a bottle of water with you and then walking around the city, it’s mostly hot and humid. The whole city has beautiful French architecture buildings but especially the French quarter gives you the feeling that you are in a city of history and multicultural heritage. It’s said to be the birthplace of Jazz and you can feel it in the air. People play different instruments and sing live by taking on demand songs from the public. Right from the moment you step out of your room you can think of only two things, music and food, as if its in the air.

Strolling on the streets amongst the brunch, lunch and dinner places we found this cute coffee place - Cafe Du Monde, which is famous mainly for two things – Coffee (Au Lait) and Beignet. Its open 24 hours a day, seven days a week but the crowd does not seem to fade except of course after dinner when most of the people flock to Bourbon Street to enjoy a drink or two while listening to some good jazz.

Cafe Du Monde has been mentioned and shown in quite a few novels and movies. It’s amazing to see so many people there as the menu is really short consisting of: dark roasted Coffee and Chicory, Beignets, White and Chocolate Milk, and fresh squeezed Orange Juice. Although people have their own preferences on drinking coffee we had the original Au Lait, which is recommended by the shop owner. The coffee is mixed half and half with hot milk and served with Beignets.

Now you must be thinking what are Beignets? Well they are square shaped French-style doughnuts. They are crisp on the outside and pillow soft on the inside, lavishly covered with powdered sugar and are served in orders of three. At first I was a little skeptical, why we are going to a coffee and doughnut shop? What’s so special about it? But Debarshi has been to New Orleans before and he knew that the shop is world famous and that is because their menu has hardly changed since the days of the civil war. So it’s almost like stepping into history.

When we walked inside the coffee shop it was raining and the shop was jam packed with people. I was waiting for someone to come and attend us but Debarshi said we need to take a seat ourselves and then someone will come and clean the table. So we did just that. The service is real quick, they don’t have a large menu so the order is taken and served within minutes. For once it’s nice not to have too many options to choose from and to simply have the two simplest yet appetizing items.

I want to write so much more about New Orleans and its food but later. If you are planning a trip to New Orleans I hope my tips will help you and definitely go to Cafe Du Monde, for the sweet Beignets and the Coffee Au Lait.

Remember “Coffee makes everything better”.

Recommended Reading:

• Red Beans and Rice
• Le Bayou Restaurant & Oyster Bar, New Orleans
• ~*~ Vegas Trip: Bacchanal Buffet ~*~
• Restaurant Review: Rumi’s Kitchen, Atlanta (Georgia)
• Amelie’s - French Bakery and Café, Charlotte, North Carolina
• André's Confiserie Suisse, Kansas City (MO)
• Creole Jambalaya - a quintessential New Orleans classic dish