New Orleans Day One: Beignets for Breakfast and Deanie’s for Dinner

One of New Orleans’ traditional must-try desserts is the beignet (pronounced ben-yā with a long “a”), a delicious deep-fried dough pastry.  Picture a rectangular doughnut with no hole.  Except… somewhat heavier in consistency than your average doughnut.  That’s a beignet!  It actually kind of reminds me of a croissant doughnut, but a slightly heavier version of it…

I couldn’t miss the opportunity to indulge while I was in town, and where better than grab some at Cafe du Monde*, a historic coffee shop in the French Quarter?!  The shop’s been around since 1862, and must be super popular since it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week!

Cafe du Monde really only serves beignets and various types of coffee — I had the frozen cafe au lait, which was also delicious! — but they do ’em right.  And they pile on the powder on the beignets!  (Wait, that’s an understatement.  But really… you could even add more sugar if you wanted to.)  Look at all that sugary goodness!  I’d rate these bad boys, as well as the coffee as good, btw.

FYI…

Croissant Doughnuts & Cronuts

It’s been far too long since I’ve dined anywhere interesting, but before I start dwelling on the depressing, let me instead mention something that makes me happy!

Enter the… croissant doughnut.  Some may refer to it as the Cronut, though technically, not all croissant doughnuts are Cronuts.  Did you know that the term “Cronut” was actually invented and trademarked by Chef Dominique Ansel of Dominique Ansel Bakery of New York in mid 2013?  And let me tell you, those Cronuts sure gained popularity quickly — and internationally!  So simple, yet so innovative!

I was first introduced to the croissant doughnut aboard the Golden Princess this past May, and I must say, it quickly became one of my favorite breakfasts.  #mentaldrool

The delicious hybrid pastry was slightly crispy, yet slightly chewy — look at those layers of doughy goodness! — and also noticeably sugary — but not too sugary! — which personally, I thought was a bonus.  The best part about the snack aboard the Golden was that since it was offered in the International Cafe, which was open all day long, that meant I could have one whenever I wanted to!  It was so tempting to have more than one that I had to keep telling myself not to go overboard… no pun intended.

Have you tried a croissant doughnut or Cronut before?  I’m all ears for good bakery suggestions!