Bywater Bakery

Don’t Just Take Out. Sit Down

Bywater Bakery’s pies inspire awe. Its King cakes reign. Breakfast pastries, especially croissants, rank among the city’s best breadstuffs. But please, don’t just come for pastries and leave. Sit down for a meal. You will discover that Bywater Bakery deserves a visit for bread and beyond.

Breakfast on the Geaux

At breakfast, the kitchen offers smoked chicken and andouille gumbo served over grits and scrambled eggs. You can get a croissant sandwich or a tofu scramble.

Appetites on the go can avail themselves of a Bywater Bakery Geaux Cup. That gives you breakfast in a take-away cup. Choose such regional favorites as crawfish etouffee over grits or a sausage biscuit and gravy. Or go with a basic bacon, egg, and cheese combo.

Yes, Bagels!

Speaking of breakfast, do note that the management designates the last day of the week Bagel Friday. It is then they serve beautiful bagels that are hand-rolled, boiled and baked to a point of chewy perfection. Have one with cream cheese and lox or with bacon, egg, and cheese.

For Lunch

At lunch, choose a Cuban sandwich, a BBQ sandwich made not of pork but of tofu (!), a muffuletta that features brilliant olive salad, or crab gratin on country white bread.

For Dessert

Bywater Bakery does wonders answering a sweet tooth’s call. In particular, note the King Cake menu. It lists over a dozen varieties featuring fruit, chocolate, pralines, chantilly cream, and even cheesecake. Or, to be completely different, have a savory King Cake of boudin or crawfish.

How To Cure A Hangover

Those in search of bread and beyond should come here for Ya Ka Mein, also known as “Old Sober.” New Orleans has long claimed this alleged hangover cure as its own. In the past, we have found versions of it up the East Coast in D.C. and Virginia. Currently, though, you’ll have a hard time finding it anywhere. Except right here. What is Ya Ka Mein? It is a vaguely Asian dish. The kitchen tops beef noodle soup with chopped green onions and an egg. It does taste salubrious, but its ability actually to brighten the morning probably depends on just how ferocious the hangover actually is.