Early Saturday morning I headed out to Downtown St. Petersburg to meet my friend Jenn for breakfast. It was a sullen kind of morning. Downtown was still asleep save for the few people walking their dogs, the road bikers going for an early morning ride, and of course Jenn and I. Where shall we go for breakfast, was the question of the morning. Jenn really wanted to go to Nola Café so to Nola we went.
Nola Café is a quaint New Orleans Style Café set in a nook on Beach Drive. It overlooks Banyon trees and off in the distance you can see the waters of the Gulf. Jenn and I almost always sit outside when visiting Nola, not only because Jenn is a smoker but also because it’s a serene setting – especially this early on a Saturday morning. We were promptly greeted by our waitress, who brought us menus and gave us a minute to decide on our drinks. I ordered the Machiatto Loyola as I always do. It is a layered latte with highlights of caramel and it is sweet, rich, and delicious; dessert in a mug really. Jenn ordered the Dr. John, a dark chocolate and blackberry latte. Of course we both ordered our dessert drinks with skim milk to aid us in saving a few calories but to our dismay the waitress told us that all they had this morning was whole milk. I’m not so picky, I would have taken the whole milk but Jenn was against it. I mentioned there was a small store up the street and so we told the waitress we would return with fat free milk.
Once we returned with the milk, the waitress quickly brought us our coffee orders and we decided on breakfast. I had been to Nola Café a few times now, and each time was either for breakfast or brunch. I ordered the blueberry crepes a couple of times and the vanilla French toast another time. Both were decadent and plain old yummy. The only problem was that my breakfast/brunch choices were always so sweet and I would have them alongside my sugary coffee drink that by the time I was finished I was too sugared out to try the beignets. This time I was determined to have some beignets so Jenn and I decided to split a breakfast sandwich and an order of beignets.
The breakfast sandwich normally comes as a seasoned andouille sausage, egg and cheese sandwich. We continued to be difficult by asking ofr a crawfish, egg, and cheese sandwich instead (okay, maybe we weren't beng that difficult). A short wait later our breakfast had arrived. The sandwich was very large and since we split it she brought it out on two separate plates for us. I would imagine a whole sandwich would be a lot for one person, but hey this is America – the land of overindulgence. I digress; the breakfast sandwich was served on soft French bread, it had an ample amount of crawfish tails poking through the scrambled eggs, and it was oozing cheddar cheese. I took a bite and the textures were lovely, the soft bread, the eggs, the crawfish, and the cheese it all worked together. It was good, not over the top amazing but good. What could make this better? Some spices, I think. I realize it’s a breakfast sandwich and you don’t want to go overboard on spicing up your morning, but I felt it was lacking just a touch of something. Regardless, it was still pretty tasty and I threw in a few squirts of hot sauce to help me heat things up on a damp, cold morning. 
Now for the good part, the beignets! They came three on a plate, square shaped fried goodness covered in powdered sugar. This was my first time having a beignet but from the looks of them I could already tell what I was getting into. I took a bite. The outside was crisp, the inside soft and airy. The beignet had a mild sweet flavor which the powdered sugar topping helped to amplify. It was scrumptious and I could tell why so many people would crave beignets. It reminded me a bit of an Italian doughnut except that it had a crispier exterior. I wonder how they get the square shape, is it a beignet batter or beignet dough? Perhaps, I will find a recipe of my own and find out.
All in all, Jenn and I had a lovely breakfast at Nola Café. I’ve heard criticisms saying the food is bland and what not. Judging from the lack of seasoning in the breakfast sausage I could see that, but I suppose if you like it spicy you could always ask for it. No? Anyways, I don’t know about the rest of the menu but the breakfast sandwich was good, the beignets delicious, and the crepes and French toast I had on my other trips there were really awesome too. Oh and don’t forget the coffee. Their latte drinks are spectacular, sweet and luscious (don’t mind the calories). So if you’re looking for something to settle that morning sweet tooth I recommend Nola Café for breakfast or brunch. Try the crepes, the French toast or the beignets; I’m no expert but they were all pretty tasty to me. Until next time, xoxo!
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