Garden Disco Ball in New Orleans (Photo by Jen Carlson/Gothamist)
We failed you over the past week by not letting you know that Saturday was National Drink Wine Day, but fear not, it's Fat Tuesday, which means you are encouraged to indulge in everything. Specifically by "eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday"... but as with everything that has to do with Mardi Gras, drinking is always always involved. So let's say you're an adult who doesn't want to be a part of the drunken "boobs for beads" masses in New Orleans this week, how can you celebrate here? Last year we told you how to have a New Orleans-themed staycation, and below, a selection of places to go, things to eat, and a suggestion for what you should really be doing with those beads.
The big event is The 3rd Annual Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball on Fat Tuesday. This even is a benefit for the Lower Eastside Girls Club and "promises to be the biggest, baddest Mardi Gras event outside of New Orleans." It's even got a celebrity: Rosario Dawson will be there, along with even ringleader and emcee Murray Hill. Straight from New Orleans you'll have the Nuyorican boogaloo stylings of Los Po-Boy-Citos, and straight from the Beat Street era of NYC you'll have the DJ collective Us Girls. There will be art, raffles, and we're guessing many, many beads. A King and Queen will also be crowned, but the organizers won't say who gets the honor this year (last year it was Luis Guzman and Susan Sarandon).
7 p.m. // Le Poisson Rouge [158 Bleecker Street] // $20 to $100 (VIP reserved seating)
Another one claiming to have "The Biggest Mardi Gras Party in NYC" is Justin Timberlake's Southern Hospitality. The Upper East Side joint is promising $3 Abita drafts and $6 frozen hurricanes tonight, and the most spirited attendee will walk away with a cash prize.
7 p.m. // Southern Hospitality [1460 2nd Avenue] // Free entry
If you just want to listen to some music, head over to The Hungry March Band who will be playing the Bell House along with the Underground Horns and DJ Peter Gunn, for the venue's Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday). The HMB are a street brass march band, so they'll transport you to the French Quarter (if you drink enough).
8 p.m. // The Bell House [149 7th Street, Brooklyn] // $8
Check out Belly Feathers for how to make this Moon Pie Cake!
Get back to basics and Eat or Throw Some Moon Pies. According to legend, In Mobile, Alabama, Cracker Jack boxes would be thrown during the annual Mardi Gras parade, until being banned in the 1950s due to the sharp corners. It was then that Moon Pies entered the equation. "The chocolate-coated marshmallow treats replaced Cracker Jack boxes in 1956, and the tradition spread to other communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with some opting for the smaller bite size Moon Pies for easier throwing." Make your own (recipe) or order some here in time for the weekend.
The King Cake from Gambino's in New Orleans
And of course, you have to Have A King Cake! You can find King Cakes in bakeries in the city—for example, Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway (at 105th Street) has them available. But you can also make your own! Here's a recipe from Southern Living Magazine, just don't forget to pick up a plastic baby before you bake it. "The cake has a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, said to represent Baby Jesus) inside (or sometimes placed underneath), and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations" (like hosting the next party). These are eaten at different times throughout the year (they are also big during the Christmas season), and you can order them online as well.
Drunk crafting is the best, and for this particular project we suggest you put some beads in the trees! Seriously. Become a landscape artist for a day—gather a group of friends, buy a ton of Mardi Gras beads, and adorn the sidewalk trees in your neighborhood with them. It looks really pretty! Or you can decorate your (subway?) car like the one pictured. Mardi Gras is all about OPTIONS (and did we mention you can watch the action in New Orleans online?)
