Today, January 6, is Kings Day, also known in Christian traditions as Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. ABC7 Chicago explains that this Christian feast day "celebrates how a star led three wise men to baby Jesus after he was born."
For many folks in Louisiana and beyond, today is also the first official day you can start eating king cake, a delicious treat that New Orleans.com describes as:
A blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll, king cake is usually iced in yellow, green and purple – the colors of Mardi Gras — and is frequently packed with fruit fillings and decadent cream cheeses. Hidden within these season sweets also lie a special surprise: a plastic king cake baby to continue the fun.
NOLA Eater explains that while local favorite king cake bakery Dong Phuong has already sold out of its preorders, folks in the New Orleans area and beyond (including Baton Rouge and Waveland, Mississippi) can still find one in select stores:
More than two dozen restaurants and bakeries in the region, actually, as far as Baton Rouge and Waveland, Mississippi. In New Orleans, spots like Bourree, Adams Street Grocery, Killer Poboys, and Mr. Bubbles on the West Bank all receive deliveries, per Dong Phuong. If you want to avoid striking out at one of the below locations, however, you'll want to arrive close to opening or call the business directly to check their stock. They will also be sold on Goldbelly once the season officially starts, where basic cinnamon goes for a whopping $75 and comes unassembled — meaning you have to apply the icing and sprinkles, packaged separately, as is typical (but not preferable) with many shipped king cakes.
NOLA Eater provides the full list here.
And Dong Phuong isn't the only bakery creating scrumptious king cakes. WGNO has compiled a list of other bakeries in the greater New Orleans area where you can find a yummy king cake, available here. And don't worry, if you're not local, many ship across the United States. But don't delay! Carnival 2024 is only 39 days long, one of the shortest in recent history. Carnival ends at midnight on Mardi Gras, which falls on February 13 this year, so if you're going to get a king cake, go order one now!
