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Let The Good Times Roll
Image: Cajun Grocer
Mardi Gras. Carnival. Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. Pancake Day.
Whatever you want to call it, it’s time to participate in some serious celebrating at local restaurants.
-Throw on the party beads and eat your King Cake at 2941. In honor of Mardi Gras, all diners will receive a complimentary King Cake today, regardless if you order off the prix-fixe four-course menu or a la carte.
-Fat Tuesday’s will have several bands performing throughout the evening, starting at 3 p.m.
-Clyde’s at Mark Center will have their annual Mardi Gras party featuring live music starting at 6 p.m. For $25 enjoy an all-you-can-eat crawfish boil with corn, potatoes and andouille sausage.
-Buzz will have King Cakes all day.
-The 2nd Annual Mardi Gras on King Street will take place at the Fish Market. Celebrate five days of Mardi Gras with traditional New Orleans style cuisine and cocktails. The festivities begin tonight with music by DC Motors and end with a masquerade ball on Saturday, February 20. There will be a charity bead toss and Mardi Gras Masks available to benefit Multiple Sclerosis.
-King Street Blues will offer “Cajun Specials” all day, including several po’boy varieties, jambalaya pasta and red beans.
-Try one of Trummer’s on Main’s signature cocktails from New Orleans, Brazil and Italy. Don’t forget to wear your masks, costumes or beads for 25 percent off special cocktails, beer and wine.
-Join Okra’s Louisiana Bistro for their annual Mardi Gras pub crawl and Cajun cuisine.
-Liberty Tavern will have $4 Abita Purple Haze and $5 Hurricanes all day long.
- Union Jacks will host a Mardi Gras Bash tonight. Collect the most beads and you can win a trip to the Caribbean. Their Creole menu includes shrimp po’boys, etouffee, and bananas foster. The celebration begins at 4 p.m.
-Learn to make classic New Orleans dishes at Open Kitchen. The menu includes crawfish etouffee and seafood and andouille sausage gumbo. $75; 7-10 p.m.
-On Wednesday, February 17, Chef Roberto Donna will host a six-course ‘Il Carnavale’ Dinner at his private residence. The menu includes stuffed lamb chops with braised chicory and Piemontese style rice fritters in parmesan cheese sauce. $100 per person. Email tambolisa1@aol.com to make a reservation.
-On Saturday, Feb 20 Sunset Hill Vineyards celebrates Mardi Gras with a special Cajun menu and live music by the Yvonne Johnson Jazz Trip from 12-6 p.m. Don’t forget to wear your purple, gold, and green!
-IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day on February 23 this year from 7 a.m.- 10 p.m. Guests will receive a short stack of pancakes for free. While you’re there, help others by donating to the Children’s Miracle Network or other local charities.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
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Tags: 2941 restaurant, Aisha Salazar, Buzz Bakery, Chef Roberto Donna, Clydes, Fat Tuesday, Fish Market, food, Gut Check, IHOP, King Cakes, King Street Blues, Liberty Tavern, Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day, Northern Virginia Magazine, Okra’s Louisiana Bistro, Open Kitchen, restaurant, Sunset Hill Vineyards, Trummer's on Main, Union Jacks
Gluten-Free Gastronomy
Diners with gluten allergies are slowly but surely being acknowledged by area restaurants with increased dining options, and it couldn’t happen any faster for those that suffer from gastrointestinal intolerances to wheat, barley or rye.
Most recently, La Strada in Del Ray announced yesterday that gluten-free pasta dishes are available upon request to guests (no small wonder considering the culinary mine field gluties are forced to navigate on Italian menus bulging with wheat- and flour-based items).
Other restaurants in the area, including some of the establishments that comprise Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG), have been trumpeting gluten-free dining options for a while now (perhaps this forward thinking gluten philosophy has to do with co-owner Michael Babin’s S.O. having a gluten allergy?)
At NRG’s Rustico, gluties can indulge in usually-off-limits pizza pie without fear. Any pie on the menu can be made with a gluten-free chick pea dough (and in fact the menu states except for Eggplant Parmesan and Potato Gnocchi, all items can be made gluten-free). Further, if you thought your Celiac diagnosis was the death knell for enjoying flour-based sweets, guess again. Buzz Bakery Pastry Chef Josh Short makes a mean gluten-free brownie, and gluten-free cakes can be special ordered from the store as well.
Heading around the beltway to Tysons Corner, gluties can enjoy selections from a gluten-free menu at Wildfire culled together by Chef Steve Lukis. The menu houses a wide array of gluten-free pizzas, sandwiches, and most interestingly a wheat-free beer!
Are you a glutie? Check out dcgluties.com to seek out new restaurants and boldy go where no gluties have gone before.
–Amy Loeffler
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Tags: Buzz Bakery, Del Ray, Gluten-free, La Strada, Rustico, Steve Lukis, Wildfire
