It's summer. It's so muggy you can see the steam rise off the pavement. Yep, you're in the semi-tropics now. It's New Orleans and the living is easy. And it is 8 o'clock in the morning. Time for cafe au lait made with coffee and chicory and a plate of beignets dusted with powdered sugar. It's the chicory that gives cafe au lait its robust, mellowed down flavor.