I noticed when Rachael Ray went to Nola, she went to the Cafe Beignet, and not Du Monde. I have only been to the Cafe DuMonde. Anyone tried them at the other place?
Also this will be the first time going to Mothers for me. I want to get a roast beef with debris. Good choice?

Both of these things have been mentioned on other threads just in the past couple of days. Check out the thread on touristy things in NOLA for talk about beignets. The debris sandwich at Mothers has been mentioned several times. I know it was just mentioned on one of the current, active threads on NOLA restaurants.

Personally, I'd go with Cafe du Monde because of it's historical, sentimental significance. Have to confess to being a fan of Rachel tho'!

NOT go to Cafe Du Monde for beignets? Why mess with perfection?

We just went to Cafe Du Monde for the beignets. We got three fluffy, sweet, hot, airy, fresh, devine beignets for $1.59 I think. At our hotel they were serving them in the coffee shop for $5.oo.

So, me and two teen girls got three orders of beignets ( which was too many, two would have been enough) and two juices and a water for $8 and some change. The service was very quick and pleasant. I think that would be hard to beat.

The Cafe Du Monde is the best for people watching & it is the original. I started eating there in the mid 60s & it doesn't appear to have changed much. We are semi-locals (live across the lake) so we would notice if it went downhill. If all you want to do is try a beignet then maybe anyplace will do but most people consider Cafe Du Monde the "real" thing.

Ok, call me stupid, but what is a Beignet and how is it pronounced? We will be in NO in November, is it like a pancake?

ben-yay, I guess phonetically. You can read our prior pros & cons of where to have them on the NOLA Tourist Trap thread. As a long time customer @ Cafe Beignet I am afraid my secret may be out if Rachel Ray is now touting it. I guess it is time to find a new place...

CD,
It's a doughnut of sorts, although rather lumpy and without the hole. It's sprinkled with about a ton of powdered sugar and everyone comes out of Cafe du Monde slapping it off their clothes. It's pronounced ben-yay and it's delish! My best friend is from New Orleans and she introduced us to Cafe du Monde which also has (and I can't believe no one mentioned this) great coffee.

Spyro, Cafe du Monde is the way to go. Sit, drink, eat and watch the crowds go by. I envy you!

Thanks guys.

Yes, if you really want the whole "experience" of eating a beignet and coffee, then go to Cafe Du Monde just to say you've been there. We thought the beignets at Cafe Beignet were pretty much the same. It's just a LOT less crowded. Not crowded at all actually!

Just curious, are there any other places in the FQ that have beignets?? I've never noticed and never really looked either.

Yes, as has been mentioned, SAnParis and I presented our diverging opinions on this topic in the thread on New Orleans tourist traps to avoid, so check that out for details. To summarize my opinion, as a native New Orleanian, there IS no other place to have "coffee and doughnuts," as my dad says: it's Cafe du Monde. Period. Enjoy!!!

Yay for NOLAGirl's dad. I understand the reasons for avoiding tourist traps but it's only a tourist TRAP if you're somehow being cheated or exploited. If the thing or experience you want is at the place tourists go to, it seems counter-intuitive to go elsewhere. There are probably any number of places in NO that make great beignets but the experience, for me anyway, isn't just eating a good beignet, it's eating it at Cafe du Monde.

cd:

It's a fried dough!

Be sure to go to the window at Cafe du Monde and look at the organized chaos in their kitchen. And be prepared to come out of there covered in powdered sugar!
The Cafe beignet is across the street and up a bit. Not many tables--nothing to see.
I like to sit in the corner next to the street at Du Monde to see "the show" across the street at the corner of Jackson Square. Cafe du Monde is certainly not a tourist ripoff!!
PS There is a place in Ponchatoula that fills the beignet with strawberry (lemon etc.) filling and you dip them in heavy cream. MY gooooodness!!

Some of you misunderstood. I have been to Cafe DuMonde many times. Love it. Just wondering if I was missing anything not going to the Cafe Beignet.
The women at the Cafe DuMonde amaze me. They remind me of human machines. They are all in perfect harmony with each other and the machinery. Never have I seen a mis-step yet.
I applaude them.

I have been out of town and missed the NOLA tourist trap thread. I did a few searches and didn't find anything current. I stuck with Cafe Du Monde and loved it, but wanted to read more. Any other tips for finding this thread?

sfamylou, I don't know how to copy and paste a link into a thread. But I remembered that SAnParis had responded to the tacky NOLA thread and was able to pull up the thread by clicking on her name. Give that a try.

Whatever you do, don't breathe in when you bite into a beignet. The powdered sugar will choke and smother you. Cafe du Monde is great fun.

“City Lights” by: Nancy Marie Brown (Research/Penn State, Vol. 21, no. 1 (January, 2000))

New Orleans is not just beignets and Mardi Gras any more.

According to a new ranking of the quality of life in 50 American cities, New Orleans is the best place to look for value: "...its housing is currently underpriced for the breadth of amenities the city has to offer..." write Lynn Fisher, Zhi-Yi Wu, and Kenneth Lusht of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business Administration.

Companies today, says Ken Lusht, are "chasing people." According to his students, a good place to look for quality of life is the home of Mardi Gras.

Beignets at "Morning Call"???