new orleans cafe @ pacific highway, crows nest

Last weekend, I made a trip out to Crows Nest to visit Essential Ingredient for some cake decorating supplies that I needed for class. I came out with my sugar glue, some droppers and some leaf vein moulds (which happened to 1 of the 2 last ones that were buried within the cupboard. I have a habit of finding everything!) Mind you, I did also see some pretty cupcake boxes, silicone trays, chocolate moulds which I was very tempted to buy but had thought better at the last minute - anyway, J was with me and he was getting bored and well, he started commenting quite loudly as to how expensive things were). I've been getting him to bake me a chocolate cake and when he saw how much the Lindt chocolate couveture costed, his immediate comment was 'I may as well just buy you one rather than make it'. I've figured I'm never going to get him to bake.

Given we went late in the afternoon and had a bit of time to kill before meeting friends for dinner, we thought we'd take a stroll around Crows Nest (a suburb which use to be familiar to me back in high school). For lack of any real purpose, we ended up stopping for coffee at New Orleans Cafe.

I ordered my usual coffee and 'beignets' pronounced 'been yays'.

Coincidently, Curtis Stone's contributing piece in this month's 'Delicious' talks about the 'beignets' in New Orleans; where these are a delicacy enjoyed throughout the day. I quote 'Beignets are deep-fried square pieces of dough' and then 'dusted in icing sugar'; apparently they're best enjoyed with a cafe au lait. Personally, I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of icing sugar that was on the plate when the waiter brought it to the table but upon taste, this was quite a different story. Surprisingly, they're not too sweet and compliment coffee quite well. After devouring most of the plate, you do get a little thirsty so make sure you have a glass of water handy.

J and his Iced Mocha which was almost 3/4 icecream. When he tried to mix it, milk and cream overflowed and seeped through the cracks of the table.

We've previously been here for meals and the servings are quite generous. More noteworthy however is their service. The waiters/waitresses are extremely friendly and have a great sense of humour - you'll find they're so relaxed it's almost like you're eating at home. Located right on Pacific Highway and next to a line of shops, there's a great buzz at this place. We were there at around 5 and there were probably a dozen or so tables with people just grabbing a coffee. I need something like this closer to home!