We went each morning to the Cafe du Monde and had the black chickery coffee and the wonderful beignets. This is a outdoor cafe and there was always someone on the street playing the saxophone. It was very relaxing; a wonderful place to spend your mornings.

You must go to this legendary cafe right in the heart of the New Orleans. Here's a link to the cafe http://www.cafedumonde.com/main.htm. Basically you can order coffee, juice, beignets (doughnuts without holes and covered in powdered sugar) and that's about it. So what is the big deal? Well the place is excellent for people watching, those little beignets are delicious and you can sit in their indoor/outdoor cafe and feel what it was like to be a resident of this fine city since that is what they have been doing there for over a hundred years. Check out the street performers and play along. This place is a carnival of sights, sounds, smells and good eats.

The Original Cafe du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week (except Christmas). The only items available at Café Du Monde are coffee and chicory, beignets, white and chocolate milk, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The coffee is served Black or Au Lait. But don’t let the limited menu discourage you. Beignets, for the uninitiated, are one the great delicacies of the modern world. These fritters are square pieces of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar. They are served in orders of three. Substandard variants are available at street fairs around the world and are usually called zeppoli or funnel cake, however, these greasy counterparts pale in comparison to the light pastry perfected by the French. Beignets and strong chicory coffee make a reliable hangover remedy after a night of revelry on Bourbon Street. Although I would like to think it’s because the beignets are so tasty, the salutary effects most likely come from the chicory (better known as endive). The root of the plant is roasted and ground, the added to the coffee to soften the bitter edge of the dark roasted coffee - it adds an almost chocolate flavor to the coffee. The root of the chicory plant contains inulin, which is a natural prebiotic (a food that nourishes the good bacteria in the digestive system). The regular consumption of coffee at Café Du Monde probably explains why New Orleans natives are relatively healthy considering when their indulgent diet of alcohol, pastries and heavy French sauces.

Café Du Monde is an open air restaurant that looks out on to Jackson Square (the epicenter of the French Quarter) and makes a great jumping off point for a day of sight seeing or the final stop after a night carousing.

Imagine sitting in a wonderful little French style street cafe sipping a hot cup of chocolate coffee and nibbling on beignettes while street musicians entertain you with their talents. You will find all of this at Cafe du Monde. The best time to visit the cafe is on a nice days when the tent-like flaps are up and you can truly experience the French cafe feel.

Beignettes and coffee are cheap and will offer you a truly New Orleans experience. Don't waste your time with the Cafe du Monde restaurants you'll find in some of the malls in the New Orleans area. Make a trip to the REAL one and enjoy! Be aware that the birds that inhabit the area are also drawn there and will often fly around and pick at the sugar from any left over beignettes that may be laying around. You've not experienced New Orleans until you experience Cafe du Monde!

It's the Starbucks of New Orleans and the coffee puts Starbucks to shame. This is a tourist Mecca and a New Orleans institution. The beignets are triangle-shaped pieces of dough, deep fried then smothered in powdered sugar. You won't need to sweeten your coffee here. You skinny fat-free latte freaks should just watch from the curb. This is a great place to start the day or end it.