At midnight in New Orleans, the best decisions are not made on Burbon Street, but instead at Café du Monde.

The open air patio covered with green and white striped awnings and ceiling fans beckons in the dark of night Bachelorette parties trail in with their bride veiled and boa-ed, groups of guys hunch over café au laits and watch women pass by, and large groups of friends laugh, clap and carry on together. Topped with paper-hats, waiters and waitresses buzz about from table to table with a unique quickness, wiping away powder sugar remnants, insisting on cash only payments and of course, delivering the reason everything as assembled here: beignets atop mountains of powdered sugar and thick café au laits. In this moment, there’s no concern about how these late night snacks are going to make you feel in the morning, for when it’s midnight at Café du Monde, your only thought is of the moment and how blessed you are to be doing something so indulgent and frivolous.