Cafe du Memphis serves up a taste of New Orleans, from beignets to shrimp and grits
Beignets, shrimp and grits, and café au lait. Throw a little New Orleans jazz music into the mix and you have the perfect recipe for a Saturday brunch.
You don’t have to head to Louisiana to enjoy a New Orleans brunch with all the fixings this Saturday. Just pop over to Malco Summer Drive-In, 5310 Summer Ave., for the seventh annual Café du Memphis.
Hosted by the Rotary Club of Memphis, this family-friendly event is a fundraiser full of good food.
Attendees can pick up the authentic New Orleans fare through the event’s drive-thru. Take it home, eat it in your car or tailgate in the Malco lot with friends.
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Rotary volunteers come out to cook and serve authentic New Orleans food. They do it for the fun, but also to raise money for the Memphis Rotary Foundation and Dorothy Day House, a transitional home for families in Memphis.
“The Dorothy Day House is so special because you see miracles happening there,” event chair Lea Carr said. “You know funds raised for it will be impactful and meaningful, and we are proud to support it.”
Rotary Club of Memphis volunteers prepare authentic New Orleans shrimp and grits and beignets for their annual Cafe du Memphis event.
Pierre Landaiche, one of the event co-founders and a Louisiana native, is in charge of the beignets each year. He said they expect to cook as many as 2,000 this year. (More than 10 pounds of powdered sugar is required to properly cover all those little pillows of fried dough.)
“We have a team beignets, a team shrimp and a team grits,” said Carr, adding there are several volunteer cooks originally from Louisiana who participate each year.
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Carr recommends purchasing meal tickets in advance online on the event’s Eventbrite page. “It’s much more convenient for attendees,” she said.
Tickets are $25 for a full plate of shrimp and grits and beignets. A half plate of beignets is available for $12.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
Café du Memphis
When: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. May 21
Where: Malco Summer Drive-In, 5310 Summer Ave.
Tickets: $25 for a full plate of shrimp and grits and beignets or $12 for a half plate of beignets. Meal tickets can be purchased in advance on eventbrite.com.
Online: dorothydaymemphis.org/cafe-du-memphis
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Rotary Club's Cafe du Memphis to raise funds for Dorothy Day House
