I’m of a split mind when it comes to Café du Monde. On one hand, the chicory coffee is delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to the warm beignets, piled high with the icing sugar I will inevitably end up inhaling. My son says the Brown’s Dairy chocolate milk is the best he’s ever tasted, and I’d consider him a connoisseur.
I love going there with my boy. When we first travelled to New Orleans, he was young, and finding appropriate late-night things to do was a bit harder. I loved taking him there, laughing over our treats, spraying the white powder everywhere. We have good memories of eating those beignets.
But on the downside, there are the crowds. The feeling of being rushed along if you choose to sit inside to get a break from the humid southern air. There are the hordes of tourists (yes, I’m aware of the irony). There’s the sticky tables and even stickier floor. And it’s impossible to leave not covered in icing sugar. At least it’s impossible for us.
I asked my son if he wanted to visit Café du Monde this trip. His answer was of course! Silly mom. So once again, we’ll wait in line, fight the crowds, and giggle over the mess we make as we stuff our faces with fried dough. And we’ll make more memories, and for the joy I find in that, I expect Café du Monde will be a stop we make every time we visit New Orleans.
For those interested in such things, this year we shared an order of three beignets, had a chocolate milk and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Each item was $2.42. A bargain! Just be sure to bring cash, as that’s all they accept.
