Four Ways To Get Into Mardi Gras In NYC
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<p><strong>JAZZ</strong> </p><p>If you want to settle in and listen to some quality jazz, head over to Smalls. This was the first jazz club I went to in New York City, back before it took a hiatus and shut down for a few years, and when you could BYOB and smoke freely in the cozy, subterranean club. The Greenwich Village space is pretty lively, just like NOLA, with plenty of talking and drinking mingling with the music being played. But that doesn't mean the music isn't worth listening to, the club was known as a "hotbed for New York's jazz talent" in the 1990s, and still pulls in strong acts today.</p><p>You can <a href="http://www.smallsjazzclub.com/indexnew.cfm">check out their listings here</a>... and if you don't want to leave your apartment, you can <a href="http://www.smallsjazzclub.com/join2.cfm?CFID=83405436&CFTOKEN=11997073">livestream their shows here</a>.</p><p><em>Smalls is located at 183 W 10th Street (between 4th Street & S 7th Avenue)... just don't blink, because you may miss the discreet entrance. </em></p>
Photos via Yelp<p><strong>ALCOHOL</strong></p><p>We have pretty much given up on where to get a good Pat O'Brien's quality Hurricane here (you can make your own at home, though), so let's move on to Sazeracs. The <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/01/30/inside_the_new_milk_honey_location.php#photo-5">recently re-opened Milk & Honey</a> has a deconstructed Sazerac (pictured). Their "New York Sazerac" includes cognac, rye, Peychaud's bitters, a sugar cube, absinthe with lemon twist... and it's served in two separate glasses. For another franken-version of the cocktail, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/11/19/beloved_bills_gay_nineties_is_gone.php">Bill's Food & Drink</a> offers up a Sazerac with gingerbread spice. And for the purists, you can check out your favorite local, they're sure to serve you up something good (we recommend <a href="http://www.hoteldelmano.com/">Hotel Delmano</a> in Williamsburg, and the <a href="http://www.cloverclubny.com/">Clover Club</a> in Cobble Hill).</p>
Photo by Sam Horine/Gothamist<p><b>FOOD</b></p><p>There are many ways to sate your cravings for Cajun food in New York. For snacking, <a href="http://exchangealleynyc.com/">Exchange Alley</a> serves up fried pickled okra (with remoulade) and jambalaya balls (with dirty gravy). And <a href="http://www.508nyc.com/menu/beer">508 Brewery</a> has fried oyster po' boy sliders with kimchi mayo!</p><p><a href="http://www.marysfishcamp.com">Mary's Fish Camp</a> has seafood gumbo, as does <a href="http://bsmith.com/restaurants/new-york/">B. Smiths</a>, where they also serve up shrimp and grits in Louisiana red sauce. Want crawfish etoufee? <a href="http://www.bourbonny.com/menu.aspx">Bourboun Street</a> has it, as well as a crawfish boil. But for a more adventurous etoufee try <a href="http://creolenyc.com/index.php">Creole</a>, which has gator etoufee on the menu, served alongside coconut rice. â <a href="http://twitter.com/jenchung"><em>Jen Chung</em></a></p><p>Top off the gluttony with a bag o' beignets, which are served all over the city. You can check out comprehensive lists of where to find the treat <a href="http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/food/beignet/all-areas/all-neighborhoods/all-cuisines/">here</a>, and on <a href="http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=beignets&find_loc=new+york%2C+ny&ns=1">Yelp</a>.</p>
<p><strong>OYSTERS</strong></p><p>Oysters take the edge off like few other foodstheir briney succulence is superb with or without traditional Mardi Gras dishes. Ordering them usually involves regretting that you spent $30 on something you sucked down in thirty seconds, unless you make it for happy hour. Hit one of the <a href="http://lobsterjoint.com/">Lobster Joint's locations</a> in Greenpoint or the Lower East Side between 4 and 7 p.m. and get $1 oysters, $4 oyster shooters (trust us) and $4 drafts. <a href="http://www.themermaidnyc.com/menu.php?section=107">The Mermaid Inn's three locations</a> also have east coast $1 oysters from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. or you can class things up with $1.75 oysters from the west coast. â <a href="http://twitter.com/christrobbins"><em>Chris Robbins</em></a></p>
Photo by Sam Horine/Gothamist