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Before the Farmer's Market was constructed, the cooks of the Vieux Carre' would come down to the Halle des Legumes, otherwise known as the Vegetable Market. Creoles were fanatics for getting the freshest ingredients for the evening's dinner, so the Vegetable Market was bustling with activity every day of the week. The Vegetable Market is one of the oldest services the French Market provided, but its current location dates from 1823, when Joseph Pilie constructed the first structure between St. Philip and Ursulines on Decatur.
Since we are approaching from the Flea Market side of the French Market, we see what is usually considered to be the "back" side of the Vegetable Market (opening photo). The open area at the corner of Ursulines and Decatur Streets is Latrobe Park (above), a nice place with a fountain where you can take a quick rest break during your walk. if you're so inclined, you can move a bit further into the Vegetable Market to the Gazebo (below), an open-air restaurant and bar where you can grab a sandwich, salad, or just a cold drink. If the weather is poor, or you just don't want to be outside, you can migrate to the front of the Vegetable Market and dine at the Market Cafe. This restaurant used to be the location of the first of the vegetable stands, then it later became the location for the Morning Call Coffee Stand.
"One Coffee, One Order"
Morning Call. Even though I was a history teacher, I've never been one of those who really wanted to live in an earlier time. The one exception to this for me is perhaps to live back in the 40s and 50s, when Morning Call was in its heyday. Everyone associates cafe au lait and beignets with the Cafe du Monde, but time was when there were two coffee stands in the French Market: CDM at Jackson Square and Morning Call in the Vegetable Market. That big coffee-cup neon sign is still in operation in the current Metairie location of Morning Call, but it's just not the same. I remember going downtown for Mardi Gras with my folks and my sister when I was four or five. We drove to my grandmother's house on Lavender St. in Gentilly, then caught the Franklin bus into the Quarter. By the afternoon, the Franklin line didn't approach Canal St., so we had to walk back down to Esplanade to catch the bus home. No big deal, because Daddy would give us a pit stop at Morning Call. Forget CDM and the tourists, Morning Call was where the locals hung out. It never closed, so there were always those classic neighborhood characters you expect from an all-night place in New Orleans, 'round the clock. Morning Call still does better donuts and cafe au lait than CDM, but the atmosphere (17th Street in Metairie) just isn't the same. When you walk into the Metairie location, at least you still see that lighted wooden arch, the mirrors around the walls, and the two big pots of hot coffee and milk the waiters use to pour the cafe au lait. You can still smell the frying donuts and wish for a time when they actually had curb service in the French Market.
Not that the Market Cafe is bad, mind you. From a historical perspective, you could almost say that the Vegetable Market has come full circle in terms of appearance, with the big green awning in front now (above).
Enough nostalgia. You should be refreshed from your stop in the a/c or out in the park, so it's time to move on to the rest of the French Market.
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