NOLA Food & Bevvies 003 - La Madeleine

601 S Carrollton Avenue New Orleans LA, 70118
http://www.lamadeleine.com
Dress: casual

Yeah, it's a chain. I don't care.
Yeah, it has plastic cafeteria trays. I don't care.
The unisex bathroom is scary and has two mirrors that meet in a corner so you can see yourself throwing a whiz from 8 angles at once (GOD, I hate that!). I don't care.

This is one of my favorite places in the city. Almost across the street from Cooter Brown's, La Madeleine looks like a rustic French country home. There is a pastry case as you first walk in. You can go in and order pastries to go as you would in a bakery or doughnut shop. Or you may proceed along the "tray rail" to get very unique and tasty breakfast foods for cheap (they have a full menu, I don't know why I only go there for breakfast). They have little quiches and potato gallettes on a warming cooktop to throw onto your tray. Or granola & yogurt (served in a wine glass) or Strawberries with a brandy sauce (served in a wine glass). You can also order a full breakfast (bacon & eggs, etc.) and sit outside. You can hang out with a laptop like a coffee house, if you like. There is a self-serve island in the dining area with free coffee refills, endless bread & butter, and water (served in a wine glass- it never loses its novelty!). Down South we serve coffee cream warm. They just keep a thermal pump carafe at the coffee station.These pictures are humorous to me because I used to back my ancient, decrepit Mercedes 300D (for Diesel) into this parking spot, belching alternately black or white (or two-toned black & white) exhaust onto the patrons. Then I'd go in and get a quiche.

I've got a pretty good chuckle going on right now.

It's pretty close to the street car line.

This is the patio rebuilt after Katrina. We miss the little planter whose greenery hosted little green anoles we could watch as we ate breakfast on Sunday mornings. But all in all, it's a better dining area.

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