café du monde

LC: When I visit my parents, who live above the Mason Dixon line, my dad always says with nostalgia, “enjoy some café au lait and beignets at Café du Monde for me,” as he hands me a fiver on my way to the airport. Confession? Until writing this book I had never been to this iconic café. I thought it was a too-obvious must-do in New Orleans and thus surely mediocre. And because I had been to a similar stand located within a reproduction of New Orleans at a certain theme park in California, I thought I had already experienced all there is about sweet fried dough and milky coffee. I was so wrong. All roads lead to the original Café du Monde. And you know what? It’s not only the happiest place on earth, but the beignets with their powdered sugar topping are the Magic Kingdom. Dad, this beignet’s for you.