Old City brunch, New Orleans style

Old City brunch, New Orleans style Few cities do brunch with as much zest as New Orleans, so leave it to our most Nola-forward kitchen, the Khyber Pass Pub, to give Philadelphians a convincing taste of that Big Easy weekend feast. I loved my shrimp and grits ($12), over creamy white corn smothered in an earthy brown gravy spiked with tasso ham. The dessertlike bananas Foster French toast ($10) was also addictive, caramelized with a buttery banana brown sugar glaze. But all I really needed to be transported was a cup of chicory-flavored café au lait ($3), brewed from Community Coffee beans and poured tableside into a milky froth. It's the perfect thing to wash down a plate of fresh beignets ($5), the hot rectangular fritters covered in wintry drifts of powdered sugar so deep, that every bite begins with a little cough on the inhale, followed by a meltingly sweet smile as they're quickly devoured. Laissez le bon brunch rouler!

by Craig LaBan

Published Jan. 17, 2012, 4:18 p.m. ET

Few cities do brunch with as much zest as New Orleans, so leave it to our most Nola-forward kitchen, the Khyber Pass Pub, to give Philadelphians a convincing taste of that Big Easy weekend feast.

I loved my shrimp and grits ($12), over creamy white corn smothered in an earthy brown gravy spiked with tasso ham.

The dessertlike bananas Foster French toast ($10) was also addictive, caramelized with a buttery banana brown sugar glaze. But all I really needed to be transported was a cup of chicory-flavored café au lait ($3), brewed from Community Coffee beans and poured tableside into a milky froth.

It's the perfect thing to wash down a plate of fresh beignets ($5), the hot rectangular fritters covered in wintry drifts of powdered sugar so deep, that every bite begins with a little cough on the inhale, followed by a meltingly sweet smile as they're quickly devoured.

Laissez le bon brunch rouler!

New Orleans-style brunch, weekends at the Khyber Pass Pub, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.

- Craig LaBan