I recently visited Mandeville, Louisiana, which is across the lake from New Orleans. I used to love this city when I lived in Baton Rouge many years ago. They have fun restaurants and shopping. I was there shopping during lunch, so I asked some of the locals about the best places to eat. One of the places they recommended was Coffee Rani, which is locally owned.

I love this place, and I could tell it was really popular. It was packed with only a couple of booths available for seating. I sat out on the patio, which was beautiful. The weather was a pleasant 70 degrees, and the sun was shining.

As I chatted with one of the ladies while standing in line, she told me about the desserts, which are prepared locally as well. Coffee Rani is known for its innovative sandwiches and homemade desserts. There was Italian cream cake, toasted coconut cake, strawberry short cake, Oreo cheesecake, German chocolate cake, lemon leche’, red velvet, carrot cake, and so much more! I could have taken one of each!

With all the choices, I asked for recommendations. You can’t go wrong with a good tiramisu. Their desserts are a generous serving size.

Even their petit fours are huge!

They have some innovative pairings such as the pesto crusted Tuscan grilled salmon, which was grilled pesto crusted salmon topped with white wine, garlic, steamed spinach, garnished with artichokes, sun-dried tomato, provolone, Swiss and light tomato basil butter cream sauce. It is served with quinoa or brown rice. There is also the smoked salmon egg salad platter with thin sliced smoked salmon served with a scoop of homemade egg salad, a toasted bagel, capers, onions, dill, lemon and cream cheese.

I chose the anniversary turkey gourmet grill. I love brie, and when I saw a fig preserve and brie cheese combination, I knew this would be a winner. The anniversary turkey gourmet grill contains smoked turkey with fig preserve spread, roasted red peppers, brie cheese, and fresh spinach on 12-grain bread. This sandwich is served with a spring mix strawberry feta side salad. The smoky, sweet flavors paired well. I love brie and preserves, but I would have never thought about adding this to a sandwich.

If you’re ever on the Northshore, check out Coffee Rani. They are so much more than coffee. They have locations in both Covington and Mandeville and are sure to make your mouth happy! Check out their website here.