Cafe Du Monde • 1862

Beignets arrive at the table in threes—pillowy squares of fried dough buried under a blizzard of powdered sugar—just as they have since 1862, when Cafe Du Monde opened its original stand in the French Market. The menu has barely changed in over 160 years: beignets, café au lait spiked with chicory, and little else. Open around the clock, this French Quarter institution still draws lines of pilgrims at 3 a.m., all chasing that first sweet bite under the green-and-white striped awning.