Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.
If you’ll be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, lucky you.
Note that there are new rules for the parade route, the most important one surely being this: Private portable toilets are no longer allowed on public property. You’ll have to leave your personal Porta-Potty at home.
If you’re not going to make it to NOLA, there are plenty of other places where you can pretend like you’re there, and here are a few.
D.B.A. Barbecue - Atlanta, Georgia (@DBAbarbecue)
Each Mardi Gras, D.B.A. hosts an epic two-day celebration. This year it features music from the stellar blues bands the Breeze Kings and Mudcat, and Cajun specialties like po’boys and gumbo, plus D.B.A.’s smoked brisket and ribs. Chef Eric Guillot is flying in from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to make the party even more authentic.
Drink.Well. - Austin, Texas (@drinkwellaustin)
This Austin bar is well known for cocktails like the Lazy Dog (lager, bourbon, ginger, lemon and grapefruit bitters) and bar menu snacks like fried polenta bites. But come Mardi Gras, there’s an especially good reason to visit: the house-made individual King Cake Twinkie. That’s right. It’s cream filled and generously sprinkled with multicolored sugar, and you’re going to have to have it with a Hurricane.
Cheeky Sandwiches - New York City
Behind a tiny, clapboard-covered Lower East Side storefront lie some seriously good po’boys from a New Orleans transplant, chef–owner Din Yates. (At $8.50, they’re not a bad deal in NYC either.) Yates also imports bread from John Gendusa Bakery in New Orleans, plus Big Easy favorites like Zapp’s potato chips and chicory coffee. Don’t worry, there’s beer and wine as well.
Soulard - St. Louis, Missouri (@STLSoulard)
The Soulard neighborhood is home to one of the country’s largest Mardi Gras festivals outside NOLA. The historic French area hosts all kinds of events leading up to Mardi Gras, from a Cajun cook-off (with 10 professional chefs and 10 amateurs) to a wiener dog derby (with costumes!) to a masquerade ball. Look out for specials at local restaurants and bars, too.
New Orleans Sno-Balls - Los Angeles (@SnoBallShop)
This L.A. spot features its namesake treat made with more than 40 kinds of syrup, including classic flavors like strawberry and peach, and more inspired ones such as Mardi Gras King Cake or Tiger’s Blood, a New Orleans classic that mixes strawberry, orange and coconut. There’s also ice cream, funnel cakes and NOLA-style gumbo, but don’t not get a sno-ball.
More from Food & Wine:
Mardi Gras Recipes
Ti Martin’s New Orleans Cocktail Guide
Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans Guide
Donald Link’s New Orleans Restaurant Guide
Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs
Previously:
More Mardi Gras meal advice:
What to eat, drink, do and avoid during Mardi Gras
What NOT to Do During Mardi Gras - Lu Brow advises not to bargain for beads and shares the importance of a Popeye's run with strangers
Five Cocktails I Enjoy Creating and CONSUMING During Mardi Gras - but Lu certainly knows how to cut loose, too
What we ate in New Orleans - and you should, too.
Cooking with Carville - the Ragin' Cajun talks about the food that fuels him
Of Mardi Gras Krewes and King Cakes - we look at the sweet history of King Cake
All Mardi Gras on Eatocracy
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