Cafe Du Monde

Established in 1862, this has been a perennial, twenty four hour destination for any and all visitors to New Orleans. On the edge of the infamous French Quarter, hugging one of the circuitous bends in the mighty Mississippi, Café Du Monde stands as almost a lighthouse – a beacon perhaps. A point of reference. Defiantly, into the night, beignets can be consumed here. Coffee with the distinct additive of chicory – a vestigial flavor left over from rationing during the Civil War.

Bawdy crowds festooned with beads and drenched in a mélange of sweat and metabolized alcohol, plowing through the raucous cacophony of plastic hand grenade drink glasses wrought over the pavement might stop in for a coffee. To take the edge off. The outdoor seating under the canopy is evocative of an old central market place, or a bingo hall at a church festival. Tourists and locals consume gallons of coffee, and great blizzards of beignets.

Hurricane Katrina closed Café Du Monde for a couple of months in 2005, affording opportunity for much needed updates and remodels.

Story, Billy Comparetto