I enjoy going to the French Quarter around 7 a.m., so I can beat the groups and characters that wake up and crowd the streets by 11 a.m.
Recently, I started to catalogue the places that one could find decent cheap coffee and/or food before 9 am.

Here’s my partial list, destined to grow:
Cafe Envie
CC’s Coffeehouse, 2 locations
Croissant d’Or
Nelly Deli (Quartermaster Deli)
Matassa’s Grocery
Verti Marte (egg on French masters)
Royal Blend Coffeehouse
A&P (aka Rouse’s Grocery)