Cafe Beignet | Eating With Ziggy

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Beignets – The Secret to Healthy Eating in New Orleans

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Ziggy

No, you didn’t accidentally stumble upon another health site. I’m talking about the other “Healthy”, as in “of a satisfactory size or amount”. How to eat well in one of the greatest food cities in America. It took me a few trips to come up with the secret formula and now I am ready to pass this on to you dear reader(s). Its all about what you eating for Breakfast that will set you free to fly with the Kale munching foodies of today (ok not sure what it means either, but I think you get the idea). So grab a pen and pencil (because you know the lone pencil you have in the house is never sharpened) and write down the following recommended breakfast schedule…

Day 1: Beignets

Day 2: Beignets

Day 3: Beignets

Day 4: You guessed it… … Crackers! (Preferably with honey… to cure the hangover accumulated from the past 3 days)

Any questions?

If there’s one thing I learned from all those trips to Italy is this… Eat like an Italian. A croissant, pastry, coffee for breakfast and you are on your way to enjoy the two main things you came here to enjoy: Lunch and Dinner. I approach travelling to New Orleans the same way now, but it wasn’t clear to me at first. On my first trip as I would normally do, I researched the heck out of the city including the towns best breakfast spots, and had solid plans for the usual 3 meals per day. The result was coming to dinner fairly full. I recall hours before dinner I would wish that by the time dinner came I’d be hungrier than I was at that moment. I was fantasizing about “Hunger Pills”, not pills that reduce hunger, but the ones that increase it. But of course, in our backward society our scientists keep concentrating on the former!

Its very simple my friends. New Orleans cuisine is fairly rich. And even big eaters like Ziggy here will have trouble fitting in three full meals. Something has to give, and that something is breakfast, which is why Beignets is the perfect breakfast choice. Here are the obvious and not so obvious options you have in/near the French Quarter and my feelings on who is better.

Café Du Monde – As much as I like the underdogs, CDM won the Beignet war by a small margin. Great texture, not too daughy, not too airy, just perfectly executed Beignets. The lines for seats look longer than they actually are. The lines for takeout look exactly as they are. Get a table, order the amazing Café au lait, Beignets (the only thing they have) and take your time to enjoy this one. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or trying to pass a town not supported by Chris Christie, you probably already know about Café Du Monde, one of the greatest American institutions. BTW, once you are in looking for a table take a peak inside the building and try to grab seats there. Even while sitting out, take a look at the scene inside.

Café Beignet – Two convenient locations and very solid Beignets. The reason I wouldn’t rank them higher is that some beignets were a bit more dense and chewier than others. Both locations are very popular and the lines can get painful at times, but the Beignets (below) are top notch

Morning Call – We tried the one at City Park and while I was expecting something that would at least rival the other two due to its extensive history, it did not. These were simply not as fresh and not as great, but still a decent convenient option at the park

Categories: New Orleans | Tags: Beignets, Best Beignets in New Orleans, Cafe Beignet, food, Morning Call, New Orleans, Travel, travel+photography | 1 Comment

New Orleans Eats Day 5 – Depression Now Hits Ziggy Clan

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Ziggy

Its our last day in N’oleans. Staring at Nicholas Cage’s future tomb in the St Louis Cemetery and still somehow haunted by the zoo images from yesterday (another example above), a sudden feeling of uneasiness hits. The feeling goes into another mode when I realize at the cemetery that my stomach has transformed into this nicely rounded pregnant like shape. Later on I notice I can no longer see my… shoes. Time for 4 weeks of couscous and kimchee diet after this trip. But first we have some unfinished business… more beignets and revisit Mr 3 sticks of butter (aka Mr B’s Shrimp). Well sort of finished business revisited actually.

Cafe Beignet – More wonderful sugary goodness. Until I had a sudden cough and sprayed sugar all over. These beignets were larger and fuller (less airy) than Cafe Du Monde’s. But if I have to choose one I would go with the legend here. And the legend’s Cafe Late was better.

Mr B’s – As I indicated before this is a major rarity for us to go to the same place twice. Turks and Caicos is the only place where I do this with my favorite restaurant in the world, Caicos Cafe. Started with a wonderful plate of rice and beans which came with some nice and juicy sausages. The same sausages and other meats however were a bit overcooked inside the pasta jambalaya which disappointed overall as it did not have the same kind of explosiveness that we found in so many NO dishes . The seafood gumbo and the famous BBQ Shrimp we enjoyed on day 1 saved the day

The Sweet Palate – A gourmet chocolate gem of a place that definitely entertained our sweet palates. They get their chocolates from a master chocolatier in Barcelona, Oriol Balaguer who used to work for Feran Adria at El Bulli arguably the most famous restaurant in the world when it was open. Feran is the master that invented molecular cooking . These little chocolates were understandably expensive and as expected rich and explosive, especially the one dubbed Pop Rock.

Cochon Butcher – This is not a review. Plenty of locals recommended Butcher as the place to sample the Muffuletta, which is a large round loaf filled with various cold cuts, cheese and an olive salad dressing. Back in the day Italian immigrants who used to work in the French Market used to go to the nearby Central Grocery for lunch to get the cold cuts, cheeses, olive dressings and the Muffuletta bread and eat them all separately until the owner of the store advised them to combine all the ingredients into one and hence the Muffuletta was born. Central Grocery is still there going strong and still according to the locals has one of the best Muffulettas in town. But based on my experience with Cochon Butcher, and this is coming from someone who has a sandwich as his avatar, the Portuguese Francesinha, aka the worlds best sandwich, the Muffuletta is not for me. Partially due to the heavy olive presence. Still, you have to give it a shot while in New Orleans. Pretty sure its the law and you have to fly back with one