Cafe du Monde

Open continuously since 1862, Cafe du Monde is the anchor of New Orleans coffee culture, serving dark-roasted coffee blended with chicory alongside pillowy square beignets dusted in powdered sugar. Hubert Fernandez purchased the stand in 1942, and the Fernandez family has run it ever since. The open-air pavilion across from Jackson Square operates around the clock and draws a line at almost every hour. The chicory blend, a tradition rooted in Civil War-era shortages, produces a chocolate-tinged, full-bodied cup unlike anything in the specialty world.