Give Me Coffee, or Give Me Death

by Hannah Wilson, intern

Local is always best. Luckily, in Baton Rouge there are more than several options for local coffee. In the past, we have posted about the best local coffee places in Baton Rouge, but those times they are a changin’, so we figured we’d update the list to showcase the new places, both opened and coming soon to Baton Rouge!

Magpie Downtown

333 Laurel Street

A honey latte and mini spinach quiche at Magpie Cafe Downtown

This calming atmosphere is the perfect blend of hip and soothing. You feel right at home with the pillows, natural lighting and the hardwood floors. Their menu offers offers not only muffins and other pastries but also sandwiches, soups, salads and pizzas that make it more than a coffee shop.

While this is nothing new for the fans of their Perkins Road location, the downtown location features a full bar and a walk up window. We tried their mini spinach quiches with our morning lattes and we couldn’t get enough!

Simple Joe

3057 Government Street

A cup of River Road Coffee and a side of bacon at Simple Joe

Simple Joe makes it simple. They stick to what they know and make it easy to order and enjoy. Their incorporation of local art and photography gives it the Ogden Park neighborhood feel that locals love. We decided to enjoy a side of bacon with our piping hot cup of joe!

La Divina Italian Cafe

3535 Perkins Road

An Affogato with Creme Brûlée Gelato at La Divina

Located right at the intersection of Perkins and Acadian, La Divina is an easy way to perk up your day. They have the go-to favorites, but they also have innovative drinks that are a little off the beaten path. Here, we tried an Affogato, an espresso with a scoop of La Divina’s amazing gelato in it. We picked the Creme Brûlée flavor and together it was magnifique! The decor of La Divina gives it a funky, eclectic vibe and whatever they’re cooking in that kitchen smells amazing.

Small Coffee Big Taste

on wheels

Good morning #BatonRouge ! At 1500 Main Street Baton Rouge, LA Today - Come on by! #SmallCoffeeBigTaste

A post shared by Small Coffee | Big Taste (@smallcoffeebigtaste) on Mar 3, 2017 at 5:43am PST

On a quest for better espresso in their travels two years ago, the owners of Small Coffee Big Taste decided to open up a coffee shop on wheels!

Coffee Bean Cafe

12177 Coursey Blvd

A Vanilla Cafe Latte at the Coffee Bean on Coursey

This was one of my favorite spots! The Coffee Bean had a wide variety of menu options, they even sell Girl Scout cookies! We got a Cafe Latte with a shot of vanilla, and it was the perfect amount of sweet. We enjoyed it on their lovely patio on a lovely Spring day!

Tredici Bakery

5078 Capitol Heights Ave

A simple cup of coffee, delicious macaron and patio vibes at Tredici Bakery
in the Capital Heights neighborhood of Baton Rouge

Celebrating its one year anniversary last November, Tredici Bakery is definitely a place to put on your radar! Nestled in the heart of Capital Heights, they have a plethora of baked goodies, we chose to try one of their many Macaroons. The Salted Caramel Macaron was a perfect pairing for their coffee!

Coming soon to Baton Rouge...

District Donuts

Towne Center

Progress Pose

A post shared by District Donuts.Sliders.Brew. (@districtdonuts) on Jan 28, 2017 at 3:21pm PST

This gourmet New Orleans favorite is expanding to the Red Stick! Their numerous donuts and coffees are great pairs no matter how you order it.

Rêve Coffee Roasters - White Star Market

4624 Government Street

A rendering of the Square 46 development that will house the White Star Market on White Star Market

This Lafayette legend is known for roasting their own phenomenal coffee. We’re so excited to have them to be neighbors with Gov’t Taco in White Star Market!

French Truck Coffee

2978 Government Street 

Woke up feeling blessed #frenchtruckcoffee #neworleans

A post shared by French Truck Coffee (@frenchtruck) on Mar 10, 2017 at 6:15am PST

The compact cafe is making it’s way to Baton Rouge! Opening in New Orleans in November of 2014, French Truck Coffee’s vision for cultivating a sense of community is evident in their close quarters. We cannot wait to see these guys set up shop in Baton Rouge!

Light House Coffee

set to open near LSU

Light House Coffee // Coming soon to Baton Rouge, La! . . . Follow us to hear about our vision, our story, and our journey to our grand opening. More to come! . . . #lighthousecoffeebr #comingsoon #specialtycoffee #thirdwavecoffee #batonrouge #batonrougesmallbusiness

A post shared by Light House Coffee (@lighthousecoffeebr) on Feb 28, 2017 at 6:41pm PST

With a mission to employ and help those in Baton Rouge who are refugees or displaced people, Amber and Steve Elworth are currently trying to raise money through to open Light House Coffee. Visit their Indiegogo page to learn more about the concept!

Kickin’ it at Curry-N-Kabab

by Intern Hannah Alkadi

A variety of tasty foods from Curry-N-Kabab

Often with unfamiliar ethnic food, we tend to eat just one dish on the menu and ignore everything else. We’ll slurp pho and only pho at Vietnamese restaurants. We’ll crunch on tacos and only tacos at Mexican places. As for Indian food, we’ll scoop up curry, often forgetting the bountiful treasure lurking on the menu.

Sydney and I didn’t have a single plate of curry at Curry-N-Kabab (or kababs, now that you mention it) — throwing caution to the wind and trying out whatever sample of deliciousness the buffet provided to us.

Curry-N-Kabab has a very passionate following on Yelp, Foursquare, and Facebook. Many loyal customers have been going for years and are enthusiastic guests. Raking the reviews, you can find many recommendations and tips around the menu.

One common source of praise is how flexible the chefs are. Not only do they have a gluten-free buffet, but they offer vegetarian and vegan options by substituting dairy ingredients for coconut milk or oil. And if you want to get really crazy, the staff can spice up ori spice down the food to your liking.

Immediately upon walking in, we were greeted warmly by the waitress and told we could sit wherever we liked. We dove for the table next to the window, obviously, because that’s where the best lighting was at.

The restaurant is small but cozy. The buffet at the left was small but simmering with colorful dishes. The wall decor was humble, with a blessing written in Arabic above the beverages counter. Light poured in from the windows; not so much above. Yet dining in slight darkness wasn’t an issue. Though we were provided the menu, we were told that the buffet gave us the option of unlimited sesame or garlic naan in addition to dessert. It was a deal we couldn’t pass up.

Sydney loaded her plate with nearly everything on the buffet. Allow me to give you a tour around the ring of perfection: mounted majestically on top of the rice is chicken tikka masala, chicken that’s been marinated in spices and creamy yogurt. Sydney also opted for chili and tandoori chickens, but also went to the vegetarian side. There she found delight in panak paneer, a cheese and spinach dish, along with cauliflower in a spicy sauce and a garbanzo bean medley.

As for me, I chose my favorites of the buffet: the tikka masala, tandoori, paneer, and ordering the poori and butter chicken off of the a la carte menu.

Everything was flavorful and creamy; not dripping of sauce or too dry. The meat was tenderly cooked. The breads were baked fresh when they came out, flaking off with ease when we peeled the pieces off. Cleanup was relatively simple: the puddle of sauces on our plates were wiped clean and promptly devoured. Well, except for the butter chicken I ate while finishing this blog post.

Curry-N-Kabab is located on 11904 Coursey Blvd. You can like their page on Facebook to see any upcoming discounts or specials. You can call for a reservation or text your order at 225-372-5002.