Professor Longhair was playing on the car radio and I had king cake on my mind when I came around one of the bends of Metairie Road. There it was: King Cake Drive-Thru, a new concept bringing cake-to-car convenience to a Carnival season obsession.
Just a few minutes later, after a deliberation on choice and a credit card tap, I had a pair of wildly different king cake creations riding shotgun.
King Cake Drive-Thru operates pop-up style in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
This was my first trip to King Cake Drive-Thru, which offers an array of king cakes from around the metro area in one spot in Old Metairie.
The multi-bakery concept is similar to King Cake Hub, which is back this season at the brewery Zony Mash Beer Project, but this one adds a drive-thru and brings a different mix of suppliers.
A praline cream cheese filled king cake from Joyce's Sweets, available through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
“The whole idea is if someone’s coming through with the kids in the car they don’t even have to get out,” said Mike Graves, who started King Cake Drive-Thru this season with fiancée Tiffany Langlinais.
A king cake cream puff with pandan filling from Kimi Bakes, a home-based baker distributing through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
It also means people driving through Old Metairie can access cakes from around the area, including some from West Bank and northshore makers.
Pull right up
You’ll find King Cake Drive-Thru open Friday through Sunday outside Duckworth Tires at 1009 Metairie Road. It operates D.I.Y. pop-up style from a tailgating tent, and you can drive up or walk up (some people have biked up).
King Cake Drive-Thru operates pop-up style in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The Friday morning weather was odd when I visited, with gusty wind, a short bout of rain and beaming sunshine all in a matter of minutes. But Graves was out there throughout.
You pull off Metairie Road and follow a string of orange cones forming a curving lane in the parking lot. A white board lists the selection, and Graves talked me through which ones he had on hand, which numbered about a dozen varieties (you can check the day’s selection at instagram.com/kingcakedrivethru). That included many familiar names, including Gracious Bakery, Bittersweet Confections and Dough Nguyener’s.
The board displays the changing menu of cakes at King Cake Drive-Thru in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
I landed on two I’d never tried before: Joyce’s Sweets and Kimi Bakes. I paid by card through the passenger side window, collected my cakes and I was off to sample them at home.
Different takes on cakes
A praline cream cheese filled king cake from Joyce's Sweets, available through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The one from Joyce’s Sweets ($28) was filled with praline cream cheese. This is a low-rider cake, shaped into a form wider than it is tall, with a dense texture laced with cinnamon between the cream cheese seam. It’s heavily frosted on top with a riot of icing and pecans.
The one from Kimi Bakes ($22) was an altogether different riff as a king cake cream puff with Asian flavor. It’s a ring about the size of a tea saucer made from choux pastry, airy and light with a crisp shell and filled with pandan cream, which has a tropical, floral flavor.
A king cake cream puff with pandan filling from Kimi Bakes, a home-based baker distributing through King Cake Drive-Thru. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Graves told me he starts the day early making the rounds to various cake suppliers while others deliver to King Cake Drive-Thru. He adds a reasonable markup and guides customers through the process.
Part of the selection of cakes one morning at King Cake Drive-Thru in Old Metairie. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Graves is known for BOF Bars, his ice cream brand, which has brought such creations as ice cream po-boys to the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest and ice cream shaped into chicken legs and corn on the cob to the National Fried Chicken Festival.
The selection at King Cake Drive-Thru will progress from week to week. Graves is working on an ice cream king cake, for instance, and there’s a savory crawfish king cake coming soon from Clesi’s Seafood in Mid-City.
1009 Metairie Road
Fri.-Sun. until Mardi Gras, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (or until sold out)
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