Beignets: The Official State Doughnut of Louisiana

How can I not love a state that has an official doughnut? (And what a wonderful, puffy, powdered-sugar mounded doughnut it is!) Actually, to be fair, Louisiana and I often get in fights, and sometimes we break up. But New Orleans is enough to keep bringing me back, so LA, in the name of Mardi Gras, let's call a truce.

You cannot go to New Orleans and skip a trip to Cafe Du Monde....the real one, NOT the one in the mall, and I say this fully understanding that the mall sells and encourages you to shop with a strawberry daiquiri in hand. Trust me, the daiquiri cannot compete with the bustle of Jackson Square and the artists painting wild yellow brushstrokes or blowing "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In" into their trumpets as you sip your cafe au lait and await your beignets. The open air coffee shop is a gathering place for tourists, old friends, locals in need of a chicory fix, and street performers. When you're there, life is good.

Even Cafe du Monde dresses up for Mardi Gras

Cafe du Monde serves its lovely little take on the French choux puff doughnut by leaving it unfilled, but covering it with about a cup and a half of powdered sugar. I mean, this dougnut is heavy with powdered sugar and served hot out of the fryer. Cafe du Monde's spicy chicory coffee tones down the sweet snack and is perfect for doughnut-dipping.

And if you're worried about ordering the right thing when your highly-efficient and speedy server stops by your table with an armful of beignets for your neighbors, don't be. You can only order your beignets in threes and your coffee black, au lait, or frozen. Enjoy!