I went to Saint Louis University for my undergraduate degree. It's a great school, beautiful campus, friendly people, and facilities have been getting renovated left and right. To be honest, I really, really, really disliked SLU's area on North Grand Boulevard: there are a couple restaurants, mostly American, semi-dangerous for mugging at night, and besides Pickleman's and Papa John's and the bar scene, no food to speak of nearby for a late night college kid; can someone say no variety?
My dad knew all of this before I went there, so he showed me the good. He took me to this little cafe west of SLU's campus called Cafe Ventana. He and I love beignets, the French powdered doughnut that is famous in the New Orleans metropolitan area. My dad orders 6 beignets and 2 chocolate-filled beignets. These things are so simple, it is literally dough and powdered sugar, but it can make your cruddy surrounding neighborhood look that much brighter. The chocolate-filled ones WILL burn your mouth, I say WILL because I am serious. Coffee and teas are also served, alongside beer and wine. They also sell smaller cold-cut sandwiches and muffins. There is a hole in the floor with glass over it that peers directly down into the bakery to watch them crank out beignets.
Not a lot of places in St. Louis sell beignets, which is why I put this as an important place for those who miss NOLA and for those who have no idea what I am talking about when I say the word "beignet".
Cafe Ventana website: http://cafeventana.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment