Beignets in Philadelpha

[rlibkind]

Beck's Cajun Cafe at the Reading Terminal Market continues to offer fresh, hot beignets on Wednesdays and Sundays as long as they last.

When Bill Beck first offered beignets soon after opening his mecca to Louisiana foods their quality was hit-and-miss. But I've had them thrice over the past month or so, and they've hit the mark each time: crispy exterior, light interior, exactly what fried dough should be. Get a cup of chickory-inflected Community Coffee to go with an order of six of these large rectangular doughnuts doused in confectioners' sugar.

If I don't make it up to Haegele's Bakery in Tacony for Fastnachts on Fat Tuesday, I hope Beck makes the beignets a day early that week.

Why wait on line at Federal Donuts when you can get piping hot beignets in the time it takes to fry them.

[cwdonald]

Have you had the beignets at Cajun Kate's? How do they compare to these?

[rlibkind]

Have you had the beignets at Cajun Kate's? How do they compare to these?

Nope. Where is Cajun Kate's?

[philadining]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/117864-cajun-kates/

[philadining]

I haven't gone back to Beck's for anything after a very disappointing meal shortly after they opened, but next time I'm in the RTM, I might just have to try the beignets...

I can testify that they serve an excellent version at the Khyber Pass Pub, at weekend brunch (11am-4pm saturday and sunday) and yes, you can get a Community Coffee Cafe au Lait too.

Chick's had really good little ones as a frequent dessert special, and the dipping sauces were great too. I'm not sure if they're still common on their menu, anybody had them lately?

We ordered beignets at Vedge the other day, and while they were pretty tasty, I'm not sure I'd even call them beignets, they were more like churros.

I like the ones at Cajun Kate's, but I've just been too lazy to drive down there... I'll have to fix that sometime soon, I like those guys, and their food, but it somehow keeps feeling further and further away as time goes by!

[Andrew Fenton]

Do try Beck's again! They do credible po'boys and muffalettas that, while probably not as good as Cajun Kate's, are still pretty darn good.

I've never tried the beignets there; in fact, I've only had them once, at Cafe du Monde. But I really oughta give them a try one of these days. It's sure a lot closer to home than Boothwyn, or New Orleans...

[philadining]

I get a semi-regular supply of muffulettas from Central Grocery, so I'm really hard to please in that category! Shortly after Beck's opened, I had a quarter of a muffuletta there at the counter and it although it looked great, it tasted like a baloney sandwich, just blah. It was kind of mystifying, really, with olive salad and Italian cold cuts, it doesn't even seem possible. The gumbo and jambalaya were even more disappointing, but then, it was early days, maybe they've gotten their whole act better together.

I'm just as picky about Po Boys. But happily there's now an alternative to making a drive to Boothwyn to Cajun Kate's. A mere 10 blocks or so from the RTM, The Khyber Pass Pub has Po Boys that are just so ridiculously good that it almost satisfies my desire to travel to New Orleans. It's largely about the roll: Cajun Kate's has Po Boy rolls baked for them that are amazingly similar to the ones you get in New Orleans. The Khyber went one step further and gets actual Leidenhiemer rolls shipped in from Louisiana, and it makes a huge difference. Of course the fillings have to be right too, and the Khyber has the best roast beef with debris...

That said, the more the merrier, so I'll certainly give Beck's another try. But if you make me skip a DiNic's sandwich (or a Khyber Po Boy) for nothing, there WILL be consequences!!