Tag: Mardi Gras

Float Into Mardi Gras

Float Into Mardi Gras

Plan a stopover along the Mississippi River to join the festivities at New Orleans’ biggest celebration of the year.

It’s a little after eight in the morning. There’s a slight chill in the air, but the sun is shining on the assembled throng milling around in front of the Lost Love Lounge. They’re an otherworldly group who seem to have been beamed down from Mars. Two bare-chested men at 12 o’clock appear to be channeling centaurs? unicorns? sporting gold and silver foil lamé chaps, horns, and metallic face paint. A cute little family sidle by, mom and dad dressed like Thing One and Thing Two and pulling junior as…the Grinch? in a sequined wagon that also holds a cooler of beer. Just then a brass band with a Klezmer accent marches by, trombones swinging side to side in the breeze.

Welcome to just one of the ways that the locals celebrate Fat Tuesday, the culmination of Carnival season that kicks off on twelfth night, ushering in weeks of King Cakes, parades, fancy balls, marching bands, and lots and lots of beads, 12-and-a-half tons at last weigh-in.

Forget the drunken revelry on Bourbon Street, that’s for tourists. The real Mardi Gras is a family affair, a massive street party that rejoices in traditions new and old. It’s also a citywide event that’s still gloriously free of charge and sponsors.

’Tis the Season
Organized by krewes, the social clubs that work all year on themes, floats, and costumes, most parades roll from uptown down St. Charles Avenue to Canal Street, all primo viewing areas, with high school marching bands, 50-foot-long floats tricked out with LED lights and gobs of glitter, and dancing krewes with names like the Cherry Bombs and the Disco Amigos.

A season of nonstop action, Mardi Gras includes an endless array of parades, masked and unmasked balls, pageants, and King Cake parties. King Cakes are a coveted, usually sweet, cake topped with purple, green, and sugar. Pastry chefs around town get creative and add savory flavors and unusual fillings into the mix. Don’t miss a stop at Bywater Bakery, where eight flavors of King Cake, including three savory options, deliver the best of the season. Each cake has a tiny plastic baby placed inside. Getting the slice with the baby is a good omen and, traditionally, means you have to throw the next King Cake party.

There are some 80 parades in and around New Orleans, and it’s impossible to catch them all. But for Carnival lovers, the three original super krewes, Orpheus, Endymion, and Bacchus, are at the top of the viewing list—spectacular parades known for intricate floats, high-tech wizardry, awesome throws, and grand costumes and themes. The all-female Muses, with their shoe theme, and Nyx, who claim purses as their krewe symbol, also claim super krewe status, rolling between 25 and 42 elaborate floats. The biggest parades feature celebrity kings and queens with the likes of Kid Rock and Britney Spears holding court for a day.

Leading up to Fat Tuesday, visitors and locals adore the smaller, quirky, neighborhood parades like Chewbacchus, powered by sci-fi enthusiasts and rolling UFOs of wacky design; ‘tit Rex, a lineup of darling shoebox-sized mini-floats, and Barkus, a four-legged parade of costumed canine stars. The sassiest parade is definitely the racy and irreverent Krewe du Vieux, known for wild satire and adult themes lampooning local government and politicians, but in reality, anything goes.

Mardi Gras Day is always the day before Lent begins, which is determined by the Advent calendar and when Easter falls, so it’s different every year. On Mardi Gras Day, there are tons of options, from roving dance parties in Jackson Square to catching Zulu coconuts on Claiborne or seeing Rex, the King of Carnival, uptown. Step along with the brilliantly costumed march of Societé de Saint Anne, an array of nutty creatives that collect costumed marchers from Bywater into the French Quarter and stop at bars to celebrate along the way.

If you stay away from Bourbon Street and catch parades uptown in Mid-City, Metairie, and the West Bank, these celebrations are a family affair with multiple generations following traditions that have ruled Carnival since the French brought the fête to the Mississippi shores in the late 1600s.

Where to Stay

Mardi Gras is the highest of seasons, so it’s best to plan ahead. Prices spike, minimum-stay requirements, and “no cancellation” policies apply. That said, there are more than 22,000 rooms in the downtown area and more than 38,000 in the greater metro area, so there are options. The Eliza Jane, Jung Hotel & Residences, NOPSI, Holiday Inn Express, and HI New Orleans are just a few newish-hotels close to parade routes. Visit NewOrleans.com to source hotels of all stripes.

Marinas
There are a handful of full-service marinas available, close to the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

Schubert’s Marine: (504) 282-8136; schubertsmarine.com
Seabrook Harbor and Marine: (504) 283-6001; seabrookharbormarine.com
South Shore Harbor Marina: (504) 245-3152; marinasinneworleans.com

Getting Around
Traffic and navigating during Mardi Gras is a challenge because so many streets are closed. Bike, walk, take a cab, or rideshare, but expect premium prices and delays. Don’t let it get to you; it’s as much about the journey and who you meet and greet as the location. There is public transit, but check Regional Transit Authority for schedules. norta.com

Restrooms
Finding a bathroom along parade routes is a thing. There are several bars along the way. Some charge for wristbands and access, but it’s worth it. Some homeowners rent theirs, and the city brings in the ever-popular porta-potties. Go when you have the chance.

Safety
There’s plenty of police presence to make the walk from uptown to downtown safer than at other times of year. Still, pay attention to your surroundings and keep your stuff close.

Beyond the Parades
Order a Sazerac at Sazerac Bar. Cocktail wags largely agree that the Sazerac is one of the oldest examples of the American cocktail. Worship at the altar of Sazerac at the impeccable Sazerac Bar in the gorgeous Roosevelt Hotel where the 19th century original recipe is favored. therooseveltneworleans.com

Stay up late with Rebirth at the Maple Leaf. Rebirth Brass was founded in 1983 upon the notion that New Orleans brass doesn’t come in just one flavor. The Grammy Award-winning band, known for its legendary Tuesday late night gig at the Maple Leaf, uptown on Oak Street, upholds the tradition of brass and plays it forward by bringing funk and hip-hop into the mix. mapleleafbar.com

Roll on down the river. A ride on the Steamboat Natchez isn’t just for tourists. A throwback to the days when steamboats cruised the mighty Mississippi for commerce and pleasure, the Natchez reveals just how busy this working river remains. It’s a real treat to travel the river the old school way, sipping a fine bloody Mary and dancing to the Dukes of Dixieland, a brass forward jazz band that never disappoints. steamboatnatchez.com

Visit a Mardi Gras Museum. While you’re at Arnaud’s drinking a French 75 at the bar, extend the festive mood with a visit to the Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum upstairs, a lavish costume display that will have you longing for carnival season. arnaudsrestaurant.com

Eat This
Off the beaten tourist track, the family-run Katie’s in Mid-City is a friendly neighborhood restaurant that serves a winning “cochon de lait” sandwich, a two-hander stuffed with tender, slow-roasted pork and topped with horseradish Creole coleslaw. katiesinmidcity.com

Although Central Grocery is the original spot for the Italian muffuletta sandwich, head to Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski’s Cochon Butcher, a swine palace of piggy goodness that dishes a killer version stuffed with house cured meats. cochonbutcher.com

Save room for dessert at the handsomely redone Brennan’s on Royal Street. After a cocktail-fueled Breakfast at Brennan’s, a three-hour process powered by the likes of turtle soup and eggs Sardou, it’s time for the floor show and tableside bananas foster, a dramatically flambéed dessert that was invented right here. brennansneworleans.com

It’s quite a show, and the Mardi Gras Parade Tracker app (mardigrasparadetracker.com) can help you navigate your way. Another resource is Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide (mardigrasguide.com), which is also sold at most French Quarter stores. Enjoy, and laissez les bons temps rouler!

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras on the Gulf

Mardi Gras’s Fat Tuesday may not begin until March 5th, but festivities start in February.

Marching bands and floats brighten up many Gulf coastal towns. Masked krewe members carry armloads of plastic beads. Wave your arms and scream, “Hey Mister!” Ground zero for Mardi Gras is New Orleans’ French Quarter. If you’ve never been, go. But even before the big day, you can holler for trinkets at parades in the Old Quarter and in the Uptown section.

Galveston Island has been doing Mardi Gras for 108 years, and it has grown to a
14-day calendar of activities that bring about 350,000 to parades and festivals with live
bands and delicious food.

Just about every Mississippi Gulf Coast town from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula has eat-drink-and-be-merry festivals and parades. Some have unique parade themes. Biloxi, for
example, will crown the “King and Queen of the Krewe of Barkloxi.” Dog owners and
their dogs wear lookalike costumes.

Mobile, Alabama, deservedly calls itself the birthplace of Mardi Gras celebrations
in North America. Mobile Carnival Museum displays old floats, crowns, gowns, and
photographs dating back to 1886. The history-rich city at the top of Mobile Bay hosts
almost 50 parades in February and in the first five days of March.

The four-day Mardi Gras weekend at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach includes a 12-mile
boat parade via the ICW from The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach to Homeport Marina.
Lucy Buffett’s restaurant, Lulu’s, next to Homeport, welcomes all to “keep the party
going” with live music. Costumes and masks might get you a spot closer to the band, so
laissez le bon temps rouler!

By Bill Aucoin, Southern Boating February 2019

More Gulf Coast Updates:

Florida’s Big Bend

Boating in New Orleans, Louisiana

Fill all your senses while boating in New Orleans.

“Off the beaten path” means different things to different people. For the cruiser tooling down the ICW or in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans, Louisiana, easily lives up to its reputation as the “northernmost Caribbean town.” It’s also surprisingly accessible to go boating in New Orleans.

The city offers respite, adventure, and full-service marinas, and bangs out a welcome to boaters like a long traveling note from a trumpet reverberating off the pressed tin ceilings in some dark, candlelit jazz club. Here, boaters are welcome.

City of Tastes and Sounds

At first glance, New Orleans is an inland city surrounded by towns of fishermen and charter captains plying the most productive estuaries and marshes in North America. The reality is quite different. The large 633-square-mile Lake Pontchartrain that forms the city’s northern border isn’t really a lake at all but more of a brackish tidal basin fully accessible from the ICW and directly from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Sound. New Orleans is a natural harbor and destination for cruisers boating in New Orleans.

There’s a running joke by locals and natives of how every visitor’s story of traveling to New Orleans can be concisely summed up with some version of these words in no particular order, “Gumbo. Gumbo. Mardi Gras. Gumbo. Étouffée. Bourbon Street. Gumbo.” Perhaps that’s why most travelogues recommend making friends with a local over a beer and po’boy, which is solid advice, but cruisers and salty wanderers to New Orleans never have this problem, for the city’s marina district of West End is awash in the real deal.

A city of neighborhoods that hold their own distinct accents, one of the oldest is the West End. Built on reclaimed land from the lake in the 1830s, New Orleans’ West End is one of the most historical recreational and commercial boating districts in North America. The area comprises two public marinas, expansive parks, boathouses, and yacht clubs hosting nearly 1,000 slips for vessels capable of handling a nearly uniform depth of 12 feet in the lake. West End is an easy shot from the deepwater Rigolets Pass for transient cruisers.

Home to Southern Yacht Club—the second oldest yacht club in the western hemisphere—as well as the legacies of Jimmy Buffet hanging at pier parties in the 1970s and mercenary plots to conquer Caribbean island nations in the 1980s, New Orleans’ West End still holds its romanticism and connection to the past. The city’s largest marina, Municipal Harbor, is currently undergoing a massive $22 million reconstruction.

Along her quay, the city’s first-ever community sailing center is rising and will be home to Tulane, Loyola, and the University of New Orleans sailing teams as well as a bustling headquarters for multiple high school sailing teams all ready to add their sails to this legacy. On any given day, the National World War II Museum’s fully restored PT-305 can be seen slicing just off and along the seawalls and giving museum-goers a much more tactile experience and connection to that period of history.

Historic Haunts

The neighboring marina in Bucktown is home port for a fleet of shrimpers and crabbers. The proximity allows West End to host a legendary array of seafood restaurants, including the 140-year-old Bruning’s that was among those lost to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Today, the seafood restaurants have returned to the marinas, and the raft-ups at their docks have again become a standard scene filled with the city’s characters and liveaboards holding court at the bars.

The French Quarter’s legendary Felix’s Oyster Bar recently expanded to the lakefront and offers unparalleled views with your cold adult beverage and a salty dozen right off the boat. Sala serves a cool wine bar and small plate vibe mere steps from Orleans Marina. For the consummate New Orleans experience, simply grab a snowball. That’s a cup full of finely shaved ice laced with sweet syrup offered in a variety of flavors. Add a few pounds of boiled crawfish, and take in the views from the miles of seawall lining the lake filled with picnickers, rollerbladers, and joggers.

Surrounded by million-dollar condominiums and a resurgent middle-class neighborhood, West End is infinitely walkable. Get to groceries, coffee shops, sail lofts, haul-outs, and ship’s chandleries, all of which call the lakeshore home. Further east on the Industrial Canal are more full-service boatyards and the Pontchartrain Landing. That’s a unique marina, villa and RV park that’s evolved into a gated resort.

However, New Orleans is primarily known for the French Quarter with its seemingly unending array of bars and fine dining. The West End is a quick $15 Uber away or even cheaper bus fare. However, New Orleans is so much more than the French Quarter. Tourists rarely visit some of the best areas and neighborhoods. Ride the streetcars down St. Charles Avenue and marvel at the miles of mansions built when the city was the wealthiest in the nation. Stroll Magazine Street for its endless boutique shopping and quaint eateries housed in 19th-century shotguns and sidehall cottages.

Additionally, the city is gentrifying rapidly. There are too many restored historic neighborhoods to stroll or bike during a long weekend. Not long ago Marigny, Bywater, and Mid-City were dilapidated neighborhoods. Now, they’re teeming with young transplants renovating homes built more than a century and a half ago. New Orleans has been quietly booming and the national media is finally catching on.

Boating in New Orleans

At its heart, though, New Orleans is a maritime city. Home to one of the busiest ports in the nation, massive cranes serving freighters and container ships seem to hover above these historic neighborhoods along the Mississippi River. Innumerable charter captains also call this area home in between their commutes down to Venice and Hopedale where they make a living running sportsmen out by the offshore oil rigs.

For recreational boaters, West End is the epicenter and cruisers will feel right at home. On any given day, Olympic sailors can be found hobnobbing with sailmakers over local rums at the yacht clubs. Or over coffee, one can eavesdrop on an America’s Cup sailor’s tale to local U.S. Coast Guard men and women. New Orleans is defined and shaped by water, as have the generations who have called her home. Cruisers in search of their next off-the-beaten port should pull out their charts and pencil future NOLA memories into their logbooks.

Dockage

Southern Yacht Club
105 N Roadway Street
(504) 288-4200
southernyachtclub.org

New Orleans Yacht Club
403 N Roadway Street
(504) 283-2581
noyc.org

Orleans Marina
221 Lake Marina Avenue
(504) 288-2351
marinasinneworleans.com/OM.htm

Pontchartrain Landing
6001 France Road
(504) 286-8157
pontchartrainlanding.com

By Troy Gilbert, Southern Boating August 2018
Photos Courtesy of The National WWII Museum and Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar 

At Ease: Celebrate Mardi Gras

Celebrate Mardi Gras with an easy menu to make in your galley. Serve an old school daiquiri and Cajun Meatballs to start, a lively salad featuring the traditional purple, green and gold colors of Mardi Gras, a luscious gumbo with rice, and some sweet fresh fruit dipped in sour cream. All recipes serve four.

Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Roux:
2 tbsp. butter or oil
2 tbsp. flour
Holy Trinity:
2 stalks celery chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
Gumbo:
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Dash of dried thyme and cayenne pepper
3 tomatoes chopped or 1 lb. canned diced tomatoes
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup fresh, frozen or canned okra, chopped (optional) or 1 tbsp. file powder (the okra or file powder will thicken the sauce)
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1 lb. Andouille smoked sausage or other smoked sausage, sliced
1 lb. cooked chicken, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter or oil in a large soup pot, and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in flour, and keep stirring until the mixture (called a roux) is a light to medium brown color, about 5-8 minutes. Add celery, onion, peppers, and garlic; cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add Tabasco, thyme, cayenne, tomatoes, and water; cook another 5 minutes. Add Andouille and okra. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until gumbo thickens, about 20 minutes. If you are not using okra, mix 1 tablespoon file powder with 1/4 cup hot gumbo stock then add to pot. Add shrimp and chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on rice with extra hot sauce on the side.

Old School Daiquiri
8 oz. rum
8 tbsp. lime juice
4 tsp. sugar

Mix sugar thoroughly with lime, add rum, shake, and pour over ice.

Spicy Cajun Meatballs
2 lbs. small meatballs (frozen cooked*)
Spicy Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. Creole mustard (or yellow mustard mixed with Zatarain’s or Emeril’s Creole seasoning)
Dash each of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce
1/4 tsp. salt (or more to taste)

In a 14-inch sauté pan, whisk together melted butter with all sauce ingredients and bring to simmer. Place meatballs into sauce and cook 15–20 minutes. Transfer to bowl and serve warm with toothpicks.

Mardi Gras Salad
1 large head romaine lettuce
1 cup purple cabbage
1/2 red onion
1 yellow bell pepper
1 cup yellow tomatoes
Dressing:
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
3 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

Chop salad vegetables, place in salad bowl and set aside. For dressing, blend mustard and vinegar and slowly whisk in oil, then season with salt and pepper.

Strawberries Dipped in Cream and Sugar
1 quart of whole strawberries, leaves attached, washed
1 cup sour cream
1 cup brown sugar

Put each ingredient in a separate bowl. Hold strawberry by its leaves, dip in sour cream, and then dip in sugar. Enjoy!

Setting the Mood for your Mardi Gras Celebration

Decorate in traditional Mardi Gras colors—green, representing faith; gold symbolizing power; and purple denoting justice. If the weather cooperates, have cocktails under the stars. Trim the boat in fairy lights or Christmas tree lights in a mix of colors—red, blue, yellow, and green are perfect for Mardi Gras and if they flash on and off, even better! Or light a few votive candles in colorful holders (purple, gold, green!) and have a few lanterns on buffet tables to make it easy for guests to see what they are eating. If you have the party indoors, dim your lights and decorate in colorful string lights shaped like chile peppers, flowers, Japanese lanterns or cylindrical accordion shades in Mardi Gras colors! Go to your local party store to find a wide range of lights.

Sprinkle tables with Mardi Gras beads and doubloons like the ones that are tossed to the crowds from the parade floats in New Orleans or place a gold, green or purple runner on your table. Hang decorated Mardi Gras masks, beads, streamers, or pirate-themed-booty in Mardi Gras colors. Wear beads, colorful feather boas and glittery hats! Hang a Mardi Gras flag—your guests will know they’re at the right place when they see the crisp purple, green, and gold hanging at from your boat!

Select and have ready at least 2 hours worth of Cajun or New Orleans jazz music such as:
Bayou Deluxe: The Best Of Michael Doucet & Beausoleil; Best of Cajun: Traditional Songs; Best of Zachary Richard, or traditional New Orleans jazz music – such as clarinetists, Pete Fountain.

Cajun Meatballs

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 cup minced onions
1/4 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced red bell peppers
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 eggs
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
pinch of thyme
pinch of basil
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine meats, onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic and eggs. Blend all ingredients well with your hands. Season to taste using salt, pepper, thyme, basil, and hot sauce. Continue to mix until seasonings are well blended. Mix in bread crumbs. Shape mixture into 1-inch meatballs and sauté in oil until nicely browned.

Southern Boating, By Lori Ross, February 2016

Exit mobile version