Cafe du Monde: Is It Worth It?

A few months ago, I found myself with two kids under seven in my house for an extended period of time (read here: longer than an hour). No, a girlfriend from long ago didn't show up with a surprise. And no, they were not part of some elaborate Blackened Out International Loomers Child Labor scheme. They were in fact my nephews and I was babysitting.

Sunday morning awoke bright, clear with the first cold snap of the year, when the temperature despite only being in the low 70s is downright frigid. One of the nephews asked me if we could go "to the place with the bennies." So off we went to Cafe du Monde. Although it was just before nine a.m., a line was already out the main entrance and halfway to the Moonwalk. Pro Tip: There is a separate line for take out orders. However, this line is twice as long and twice as slow as just waiting to sit down. Avoid it.

After a twenty minute wait, we snagged an open table covered in the detritus of a previous beignet binge. In no time a waitresses, her Vietnamese complexion a few shades lighter than the cafe au lait she ferries about, wiped the table clean while taking our order. The wait staff at Cafe du Monde is nimble and quick, able to juggle multiple orders, change requests, and the demands of a fast paced restaurant. Cirque du Soleil meets the cafe. When you order beignets (which come three to an order), you would do best to order one more plate than you think you need. It will save you trouble later on down the road.

Despite the crowds and hassle, time spent at Cafe du Monde is time well-spent. For the eyes an ever evolving feast of people watching unfolds in front of you- in one corner a young family, the parents hungover, the kids incredulous that they are getting to eat sugar for breakfast, the other table has two elderly tourists just in from Minnetonka and adorned with money belts, conference badges, and guide books, over back there is that girl "what's her name, you went to school with her brother" and her two kids with a third on the way. Sit at Cafe du Monde long enough and you will run into everyone you know.

Now comes the fare. Thick mugs filled with rich creamy cafe au lait, glasses of orange juice, cartons of chocolate milk, water sweating through its glass, and their justifiably famous beignets. The boys went right to work, soon our faces covered in thick powdered sugar and wide grins. My favorite part of the beignet are the slightly crispy corners which allow you to scrap up the extra sugar from the round plates. Lindsay too got in on the action, tentatively at first. But as we were leaving she said, "I can't get over how good those things actually are."

"This is just coffee and donuts," you'll say. You may think you can skip this because you have it at home or because it is too crowded, too touristy, too cliche. Consider this: you can feed a family of four for around $20.

And you don't have cafe au lait and beignets at home.

Cafe du Monde- Worth It? Yes, especially if you have kids. But go early.

If you can't find Cafe du Monde, just keep looking. It only closes on Christmas Day.

PS: Yes, Morning Call is just as good and less crowded, but let's keep that secret to ourselves, New Orleans.

If Tomorrow Never Comes

The Pope emailed me yesterday with this suggestion: "I think you and Rene should do a blog asking that if Monday was your last day on earth, where would you eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and maybe a snack in between), and what would you have."

But with Gustav in the Gulf and today being the 3rd anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, I decided to take some literary license with this question. If today was your last day to eat out in New Orleans, where would you go? While we wait with baited breath for The Pope's final day of dining out, I will give you my list of last NOLA meals. Though I must say that if you asked me this question tomorrow, I might have completely different answers.

Breakfast - Cafe du Monde
Nothing like an order of beignets with a cup of coffee and chicory to start the day.

Lunch - Galatoire's
Why? Because nowhere else in the world can you have a remotely similar lunch experience. You can't go to Galatoire's for lunch and not have a great time.* Table of 8. Start with a Sazerac. Grand Goute, Oysters En Brochette, and Fried Eggplant & Pommes Soufflé Bearnaise to pass around with our cocktails. A nice piece of sauteed trout or redfish with either crawfish tails or crabmeat (whichever is in season). Dessert? How about a slice of chocolate pecan pie.

Snack - Drago's
Like a really need a mid-afternoon treat to hold me over. But if The Pope says that I can have one, I want it to be a dozen on the half shell.

Dinner - Stella!
Tasting menu, of course. With wine pairings. What would I get? Who knows. But if experience has taught me anything, Scott Boswell would not steer my wrong.

So there is my last day dining. Rene's and The Pope's are soon to come, but feel free to email us yours.

*Well, unless you are the judge's wife who was urinated on by some drunk college kid on Christmas Eve last year. But that's another story for another time.