Many cities have a signature food - in Philadelphia it's cheese steak, in Austin it's BBQ, in Chicago it's deep dish pizza and in New Orleans it's beignets at Cafe du Monde.
Cafe du Monde is the most popular tourist destination in NOLA. The cafe is in the heart of the French Quarter and is known for powdered sugar covered beignets and hickory flavored coffee.
As you walk towards Cafe du Monde you can spot its white and green awning about a block away. On the day we arrived the weather was absolutely beautiful and the outdoor patio was packed!
We managed to score a table with a great view of the bustling street outside.
Our waitress, sporting a white, paper, Cafe du Monde hat, came over to take our order. Since neither of us are coffee drinkers we just ordered one plate of beignets (each plate comes with three).
Within two minutes our plate of powered sugar bliss was delivered!
We were both in awe of the powdered sugar avalanche that had descended on our beignets!
After staring at them for a solid minute, we decided to dive in. When you take a bite of the beignet, though you taste the warm, doughy pastry, soon after, your entire mouth and lips are completely coated in sugar! Thank goodness we had glasses of water to help us wash it down!
Did we like our first ever, New Orleans beignets? To answer that question I give you this:
Of all the signature foods a city could be known for, I have to say, this might be the best one!
On our way out my coworker bought a box of Cafe du Monde's beignet mix to bring back to her family. For those who are interested, they sell their coffee too.
After our sugar high, we headed up the street and strolled through the Plaza de Armas which is breathtakingly gorgeous.
I, along with many other tourists, kept stopping right in the middle of the walking path to take pictures.
The locals were reading and hanging out with friends on the park's benches and on blankets in the grass. If I lived in New Orleans, I would definitely grab some beignets to go and read for the afternoon in this park.
From there we bopped into a few more Mom & Pop shops and then headed to our last stop, Southern Candymakers. One word for you: Pralines! More on that in the final NOLA post!
Have you ever been to Cafe du Monde?
