After the Krewe du Vieux parade was over, John and I were trekking back through the Quarter down Decatur Street when I suddenly remembered something…I didn’t have any dessert for my cheat! No matter, I knew the perfect place to go.
Since my first visit to New Orleans, I have been in love with Café Du Monde. I love the crowded cafe overflowing with lines of sticky topped tables. I love the waiters in white hats and aprons bearing over-laden trays while weaving through the masses. I love the mammoth, green awning shading visitors from the harsh sun, but allowing the river breezes. I love the creamy, rich café au laits made with their special blend of coffee and chicory and most of all, above everything else, I love their beignets.
Who could possibly resist these fluffy, crispy pillows of happiness brought out fresh from the deep fryer for every single order and blessed with towering heaps of powdered sugar? Most definitely not I.
When John and I arrived late that Saturday night, the cafe was packed with parade revelers, but we managed to score a table amidst the hullabaloo with little difficulty. We sat and people-watched until a waiter came and took our order of two café au laits and a plate of beignets.
Tourists were flashing fake boobs for pictures while we waited, causing a bit of a row, but soon our order arrived and we set to with a will. The coffee was perfect, requiring only a bit of sugar for my extra-sweet tooth and the beignets were as beautiful as they always are. Piping hot, we munched them down amid a flurry of powdered sugar and gooey grins.
As I washed the sweet remnants from my lips with a slurp of delicious coffee, I couldn’t help feeling warm and wonderful inside. It was yet another reminder that I’m where I’m supposed to be.
3 comments
Anytime I sit at a table at Cafe Du Monde, I always go back to that first time…
It just feels so right 🙂 Welcome home!
I feel the same way. We're not from New Orleans originally. But, this is now home and I just know that I belong here.