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Cafe Du Monde

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Emily
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4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
35
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Editor Pick

Jumpstart Your Day at Cafe Du Monde

  • October 8, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by travelwisdom from Mary Esther, Florida
Jumpstart Your Day at Cafe Du Monde

Jumpstart your day at Café Du Monde, located at 800 Decatur Street since 1862. No visit to New Orleans would be complete without a visit to Cafe du Monde for beignets (ben-yays) and cafe au lait (cahfay-oh-lay). The beignets are small, square, French-style donuts nestled in a cloud of powdered sugar. Café Au Lait is a tantalizing mix of half-strong, chicory coffee and half-steamed milk - the perfect complement for the beignets.

During morning hours, Café Du Monde is crowded. Expect to wait in line. When you reach the front of the line, grab a table as soon as you see someone getting up. Don’t wait for it to be cleaned or you’ll lose out to more fleet-footed diners.

Don’t want to wait? It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on Christmas and during hurricanes, so go for a late afternoon or midnight snack. It's a great place to sit outside and people-watch at any time of the day.

Hint: Don’t wear black. There’s no way to avoid dusting your face and clothes with powdered sugar as you dig in and delight in this New Orleans tradition!

From journal Discovering the REAL New Orleans

Cafe du Monde

  • August 5, 2004
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Jessicat1982 from Brossard, Quebec
Cafe du Monde

Most days I ended up here at some time or another, usually in the morning before I'd start meandering around the French quarter or in the late evening after everything else had closed.

It's a great place to go to just people watch. There's almost always some kind of entertainment going on in the street next to the cafe. In the picture posted you might be able to make out a man playing the saxophone on the corner of the street.

Whether you have a frozen cafe au lait after a long hot day wandering around the quarter, or start your day off with a couple of beingnets and some chickory coffee, you need to go here at least once if for anything, just to say you did! It's been featured in so many books and movies that it's practically synonymous with the vieux carre.

From journal Criminals and Pirates and Prostitutes, Oh My!

Cafe du Monde

  • July 16, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by melissa_bel from Hautrage, Belgium
One of the specialty and an experience you don’t want to miss is seating in the morning at the terrace of Café du Monde, just off Jackson Square and order beignets and café au lait. Beignets are like donuts but crispier and tastier, sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and café au lait is a mix of coffee, chickory, and milk. It’s cheap, delicious and you are in one of the prettiest area in town. It’s better to go in the morning for tourists are numerous and in the afternoon, the place is really hectic. Oh yeah… Café du Monde is also known for not taking credit cards so don’t forget your cash.

From journal Laisse le bon temps rouler in New Orleans

Editor Pick

Cafe du Monde

  • June 27, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by meadowlark from Boston, Massachusetts
Cafe du Monde

The Food:
Cafe du Monde is a New Orleans tradition. This French-style cafe was opened in 1862 and is famous for the beignets and coffee. Beignets are square-shaped donuts with powdered sugar. They are served in groups of three for around a $1 or so. Although mighty tasty with a cup of coffee, or steamed milk in my case, I would recommend sharing two orders among three people since the third beignet is very difficult to eat unless you have a very big appetite. Their coffee and beignets are so popular that you can actually buy the coffee and mix to make your own beignets at home in their shop or online.

When to go:
The cafe is, surprisingly, open 24 hours, seven days a week except on Christmas Day (and in case of hurricane). We enjoyed going in the late afternoon so that we could sit in the outdoor seating under the canopy. From here we could enjoy the pleasant weather and the comings and goings of people in the French quarter. There are often street musicians performing on the sidewalk outside the cafe and the horse and buggy rides go by the cafe contributing to the wide variety of street traffic and opportunities for people watching.

Service:
The service was generally good but could be a bit slow if you order something other than coffee and beignets, which are being prepared continuously. They have other menu items including ice cream and entrees but few people come here for a real meal. Also, apparently they don't accept credit cards so bring cash--although this shouldn't be too much of a problem since you are likely to spend less than $5/person.

Location:
The cafe is in the French market, which is on the southern border of the French Quarter along the river. From the convention center you can take the Riverfront streetcar line. Either get off at Toulouse and walk up about 3 blocks or Dumaine and walk back 2 blocks.

From journal On the Fringe of the French Quarter

Cafe du Monde

  • June 1, 2004
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Bamagirl from Athens, Georgia
Almost everyone ends up at Cafe du Monde at some point during their trip to New Orleans. It is nearly impossible to resist those yummy beignets and hot coffee!! In addition, the tables are close enough together that you can make friends with all sort of folks if you hang out long enough! However, this is not the be-all-end-all place for breakfast-- it is much better for a light(!) dessert or for a late night nosh.

From journal Quick trip to New Orleans

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