Cafe du Monde
I have been to Cafe du Monde a few times before, and each time I was there about something different. The first theme was to try the beignets (they helpfully explain that it means “French doughnut”), the second theme was for the Cafe au Laits (very strong black chicory coffee with steamed milk). This time, for the total experience.
As I mentioned, I am trying to cut out fried foods (by choice) and dairy (as part of an experiment) and limit my carbs. So, maybe Cafe du Monde’s menu was a bad choice. The doughnuts are bready dough, deep fried and then covered with a liberal scoop of 10x powdered sugar. The cafe au lait is - as mentioned - strong coffee and steamed skim milk.
Here are my accommodations. I shook off as much sugar as I could. (The floors in the place must just get hosed down every night, and every patron walks out with at least one fleck of powdered sugar on them somewhere. What happens at Cafe du Monde, stays at Cafe du Monde…) I asked for the coffee black. I split an order of the beignets with two friends.
The order came out a few minutes later. I got my coffee in a 5 oz cup (a standard), filled to the brim with opaque absorbs-all-light black coffee. The orders of beignets were set out to share, and we each got a glass of water and a spoon. Napkins in a tabletop dispenser.
My memory of the coffee was that it would melt the enamel off your teeth if there was no sugar or milk in it. In fact, my previous ritual was to shake the excess powdered sugar from the doughnut into the coffee and stir it with the helpful spoon. I used the glass of water to try to wipe off the spilled sugar.
Fast forward to today. The coffee is strong, and I have on many occasions had much stronger coffee. I drank the black coffee without any trouble, or complaint. In fact, I probably could have asked for decaf, if I wanted to take the caffeine out of the equation. Oh well.
The doughnuts were addictive. It’s not the sugary taste exactly. The beignet was slighty chewy, slightly sweet (from the ever present sugar), and not especially cake-like. A truly wonderful thing. I took a picture of their menu. Very simple.
One of my friends remarked that the menu has probably never changed. It is probably true. The core reason why people come there is for the Chicory coffee,and the prodigously powdered sugar coated beignets.Those items are offered in abundance, and they are resoundingly awesome.
There are more options on the menu (e.g. hot chocolate, orange juice (???) soda (???) and bottled water). In the few years since I have been to NOLA, they have also added a small line of frozen or iced coffee beverages (i.e. frozen cafe au lait, and iced coffee in regular or decaf).
If you are in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre) in NOLA, find the green and white awning and indulge. You won’t be disappointed.
When looking at the menu, remember that NOLA has a 9.75% sales tax. That might explain all the strange looking prices.