New Orleans’s favorite morning pastry comes blanketed with a blizzard of powdered sugar.
As much an edible symbol of New Orleans as gumbo and a po’ boy sandwich, the beignet (“bean-yay”) is a rectangular, hole-less donut with a bit of crunch to its crust and creamy insides. Sugared fritters are found in most cuisines—Italian zeppoli, Mexican buñuelos, Portuguese malasadas, etc.—but the presentation of beignets is unique. Always served piping hot from the fry kettle, they come covered with so much confectioners’ sugar that they are impossible to eat without clouds of the white powder covering fingers, hands, face, and clothes. The customary companion is café au lait, a smooth half-and-half mix of milk and chicory coffee. The time-honored place to eat beignets is in the old French Market at Cafe du Monde, a brash, alfresco commissary open 24/7/365. If you want them with espresso and strong coffee, visit Cafe Beignet on Royal Street in the French Quarter.