We’re back on the Westbank for today’s review. And if there’s one thing worth going to the Westbank for, it’s a Hi-Do king cake. I’m sure I’ve slightly offended my small Westbank following, so I’ll admit that there are several things that will motivate me to drive over the Crescent City Connection, but nearly all of them are food-related. There is also the fact that the Harvey Target is far more tolerable than the Metairie Target. As I’ve mentioned here before, New Orleans has a large Vietnamese population and a number of Vietnamese bakeries. Hi-Do is one of them, and it truly stands out from the rest. Let’s discuss the Hi-Do Traditional King Cake.

Hi-Do is located in Terrytown, where it sells baked goods like croissants, French bread, and pastries. People love their French Bread. And people REALLY love their king cake. This is one of those tiny family bakeries that has to go into overdrive during the carnival season, I read in the BBKC that the owner’s daughter’s husband, who is a medical doctor, takes time off of work during carnival to help make king cakes. And if that doesn’t speak for itself, I don’t know what does.

Hi-Do is a king cake that is simply in a class of its own. This is not a bells-and-whistles cake. It has… no icing. I repeat. It has no icing. It is dough topped with sugar.

Hi-Do is a king cake that is simply in a class of its own. This is not a bells-and-whistles cake. It has… no icing. I repeat. It has no icing. It is dough topped with sugar. This is important for a few reasons. First, native New Orleanians of my age and older will tell you that this kind of king cake is a REAL traditional New Orleans king cake. I kind of can’t believe we haven’t talked about this yet, but I’m doing it. I’m going to invoke the M word.

I hate using the M word because it sends native New Orleanians into an absolute tizzy. But yes, old New Orleans, don’t you love this cake because it reminds you of… McKenzie’s? For those of you not in the know, McKenzie’s is the old-school New Orleans bakery that epitomized king cake beginning back in the Depression era and, to borrow one of New Orleans’ favorite phrases, it “ain’t dere no more.” McKenzie’s closed in 2000 and, for a store that has been closed for nearly 23 years, it’s astounding how much people still talk about it. Seriously, we sure do talk about it A LOT. Technically speaking, Tastee Donuts owns the McKenzie’s king cake recipe and still makes them, but this, readers, is obviously not the same. I’m not sure any New Orleanian would even call the Tastee Donuts cake a McKenzie’s king cake, even if just out of respect. For the cake.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I really think Hi-Do is the anti-Randazzo’s. Hear me out here. I will obviously eat any king cake, but not everyone feels that way. There are people (mostly people who remember McKenzie’s) who really don’t love king cake with icing. They want king cake that is a brioche dough with sugar and not much else. Randazzo’s is a lot, and I like a lot, but there is a very special place in my heart for Hi-Do.

This cake showed up at the office last Friday and was brought in by a brand new colleague. She announced via mass email that she had brought in a Hi-Do Traditional King Cake to say thank you for welcoming her. She also specifically noted that she had gotten the baby in an earlier king cake this season. Side note: YES. THANK YOU. THAT IS HOW THIS WORKS. OTHERS, TAKE NOTE. Sorry for yelling but, y’all, come on. If you get the baby, share the love.

I may or may not have moved quite quickly to the kitchen (folks, I ran, I have no regrets) to make sure I got a slice of Hi-Do. I’m 100% serious when I say that I am tearing up a little thinking about it… the cake was still slightly warm. I know that cake came out of the oven more recently than I had gotten out of bed that day, and that made my heart happy. I cut myself a generous little chunk and headed back to my desk.

I’ll say it again: there is no white icing here. Just lots and lots of purple, green, and gold sugar. There is a metric ton of sugar. I know this because when I placed the slice on my desk, I knocked about half the sugar off of the top of the slice and onto my desk, and it STILL had a ton of sugar on it.

I almost don’t have words to describe how perfect the consistency of this dough is. It is fluffy dream bread. It’s like if bread were a cloud. It’s very bready but it also just melts in your mouth. One thing that I noticed about this cake for the first time this year (I’ve been thinking about cakes a bit more critically, can you tell?) is that there is a savory saltiness to the dough that I haven’t detected in many other cakes. I love it. The cinnamon is super prominent here but manages its prominence without overpowering. Despite not being very sweet at all, this cake somehow just doesn’t need more than the sugar. It is incredible.

Once again, I’m going to admit/highlight that this experience was greatly enhanced by the fact that this cake was FRESH fresh. A+ level fresh. It matters. It makes a difference.

I know several of you are probably really confused right now. “This makes no sense! What about her love of fillings?” Reader, there is a place for simplicity, especially when it is done right. Here, it is done so, so right. And because I’ve spent so much time here waxing poetic about complexity and fillings, I hope that you will trust me when I say that this truly is New Orleans tradition at its best. If you live in New Orleans and have never tried this, I’m officially assigning this as homework. And you can pick one up at King Cake Hub without having to go to the Westbank. You’re welcome. This is a classic and you must eat this. 5 stars.