History and Tradition, Cafe Du Monde

Many will tell you that you have not been to New Orleans if you haven’t had a Cafe Au Lait and beignet at Cafe Du Monde.  Cafe Du Monde products can be found in many cities far and wide for those that just can’t get enough of the decadent good stuff.

Last month, I had an extraordinary visit at this special coffee shop icon.  With a stroke of luck, I had a friend from Baton Rouge show up just in time to wisk me off from the airport to the French Quarter.  The timing couldn’t have been better! Elizabeth Hill of Handmade at Homestead is also a fellow soapmaker that I met at the first annual Georgia Spring Fling in 2008.  I didn’t know anyone at the conference that year and she was the first person to sit down to lunch with me. We became fast friends as we discussed our love for the Dekalb Farmer’s Market in Atlanta and our connection to New Orleans, LA.

After a quick tour of Elizabeth sister’s home, we picked up her mom and headed to the French Quarter to feast on the goodies Cafe Du Monde has to offer.  They both giggled at how they hadn’t planned it, but were dressed in black which is a magnet for white powder that was sure to meet up with us! The day was beautiful and the conversation was fantastic.

To be at Cafe Du Monde as a tourist is one thing. To be there with local folk that have a history in the city was priceless! They shared happy times and tough times with Hurricane Katrina being a central milestone for events. They shared the tails spins of directions that changed after. They also were very candid about anxieties regarding hurricane season.  Make no mistake folks, the clean up isn’t even close.

While celebrities like Brad Pitt and Fats Domino as well as several others have tried to bring the hope of clean up. It still has a long way to go.  New Orleans folk may not agree on the details but the fact remains, more work is needed.  As I sat in Cafe Du Monde learning up close of a family touched by the storm, my husband had the opportunity to tour the 9th ward.

Here are some of the pictures:

Take at these pictures of Fats Domino’s house and then the house next door. It just screams dicotome and incomplete…

Here is a shot of the huge water pumps and a patched up levy.

Humbling aren’t they?  I hope this city gets the rebuild that is much deserved. Do you realize it’s been 5 years since Katrina? (August 28th, 2005)

Happy Washing

~Regina