French Market & Café du Monde: The Beignet and Chicory Tradition
Why is it significant?
Finish your walking tour beneath the green-and-white striped awning of Café du Monde, right on the edge of the historic French Market. Inhale the irresistible aroma of dark-roast coffee and golden dough frying in cottonseed oil.
Key Facts
| Place | French Market & Café du Monde: The Beignet and Chicory Tradition |
|---|---|
| Address | 800 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116 |
| Geo Coordinates | 29.95750, -90.06180 |
| Part of Walk | French Quarter Mysteries: Voodoo Queens, Pirate Smugglers, and Jazz Sanctums |
| Generated | Generated |
Finish your walking tour beneath the green-and-white striped awning of Café du Monde, right on the edge of the historic French Market. Inhale the irresistible aroma of dark-roast coffee and golden dough frying in cottonseed oil. Take a seat at a marble-topped table and dust powdered sugar off your hands as a plate of three hot, pillowy beignets and a steaming cup of café au lait arrives.
The French Market is the oldest continuously operating open-air market in America, founded as an indigenous Native American trading post along the Mississippi River levee centuries before French explorer Bienville established the city in seventeen eighteen. Café du Monde has operated on this corner twenty-four hours a day since eighteen sixty-two, closing only on Christmas Day and during major hurricanes.
Why do New Orleanians mix bitter chicory root into their coffee? During the Civil War, Union naval blockades completely cut off coffee imports into New Orleans. Resourceful Creoles roasted and ground wild roasted chicory root from the endive plant to stretch scarce coffee grounds, creating a rich, chocolate-smooth flavor that became a permanent cultural hallmark.
Savor your sweet beignets as riverboats sound their horns along the Mississippi levee. You have tasted the magical, resilient, and timeless soul of New Orleans.