Morning Call Coffee Stand

** THIS RESTAURANT IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED ** BUT SEE THIS REVIEW FOR THE CURRENT ITERATION OF MORNING CALL

Like ordinary donuts, beignets range from heavyweight to heavenly. Those served at Morning Call are divine. Lightweight and crisp-edged, they always come hot from the fry kettle. It is the your job to apply powdered sugar from shakers set out on tables.

Although it is located in a fairly nondescript area, Morning Call is vintage New Orleans, having opened in the French Market in 1870. Urban renewal squeezed it out in 1974. From the outside, other than the old sign over the door, there’s nothing about the Metarie location that suggests it is an important part of New Orleans Culinary history, but the moment you enter, you know. Staff are dressed in crisp white uniforms and bow ties. Mirrors line the wall like at Galatoire’s (but at 1/10 the price). Lighting is vintage incandescent.

Take note of the fact that Morning Call’s cafe au lait is not just coffee with a lot of milk. No, no, it is full-bodied French drip chicory coffee poured out of its pitcher in a long flowing stream. When the cup is about half full, warm milk is added so that both streams swirl together, filling the cup to its top and creating a frothy head elegant enough to match Morning Call’s peerless beignets.