Valley venues gear up with celebrations for Mardi Gras

All eyes are still on New Orleans. And not just because the Saints won the Super Bowl.

It’s just about Mardi Gras, and celebrations aren’t contained just to The Big Easy. In Fresno, Mardi Gras is a time-tested tradition, with a variety of happenings on deck to celebrate the food, music and culture of New Orleans. Here’s what to expect:

Food in the Tower

Through Fat Tuesday, Feb. 16 / Tower District restaurants / cost varies / (559) 497-8362, or individual restaurants

The Tower District is always a hot spot for Mardi Gras season, with various restaurants serving New Orleans-themed food. (Call the individual restaurants to find out how long these dishes are on their menus.)

Bill Kuebler of the Tower District Marketing Committee rattled off this year’s dishes:

- Irene’s Cafe is serving jambalaya, gumbo, Cajun-style meatloaf, red beans with ham and sausage, and bread pudding with bourbon sauce. Details: (559) 237-9919.

- Tower Dogs is selling Cajun hot links with red beans and rice. Details: (559) 445-1585.

- Veni Vidi Vici has “the original Tower District gumbo created by Gumbo Gary [Davis],” Kuebler says. Details: (559) 266-5510.

- Livingstone’s has chicken gumbo and hot links with red beans and rice. Details: (559) 485-5198.

- The Landmark is serving jambalaya and Cajun stuffed salmon. Details: (559) 233-6505.

- Michele Kendall of Sequoia Brewing Co. says her restaurants will serve dishes such as crawfish pasta, jambalaya, shrimp gumbo, fried shrimp, oyster shooters and oyster po-boys. Details: (559) 264-5521 for the Tower District restaurant, or (559) 434-2739 for the location at Champlain Drive and Perrin Avenue.

- And Charla Franklin of Stuff Waffle (formerly known as Chameleon Waffles & Wings) has teamed up with caterer Leroy Franklin (aka the Spice Man) to celebrate New Orleans, their hometown.

From 8 a.m.to 10 p.m. Sunday, they’ll have a Louisiana sampler platter (Creole-spiced party wings, an alligator-crawfish roll with fig-and-sugar-cane dipping sauce, smothered potatoes, waffle bread pudding with bourbon sauce, and mint iced tea or chicory coffee).

Other New Orleans-inspired dishes are jambalaya and red beans and rice. Reservations recommended.

Details: (559) 458-6062.

Bad Boys Zydeco

8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12 / Full Circle Brewing Co., 620 F St. / $10 / (559) 264-6323

Evo Bluestein knows a thing or two about folk music from various regions.

This time each year, he brings a little bit of New Orleans flavor to this shows.

His band Bad Boys Zydeco, which plays Cajun and zydeco dance music, is hosting its annual Mardi Gras concert tonight at Full Circle Brewing Co.

Rounding out the band are John Shafer (scrubboard), Kevin Hill (bass), Dustin Peterson (guitar) and Chris Millar (drums).

Gumbo and jambalaya will also be served, and Cajun cooks are welcome to bring their own dishes to share.

Afterparty at Audie’s

3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14 / Audie’s Olympic, 1426 N. Van Ness Ave. / (559) 233-3733

Traditionally, the entire Tower District is hoppin’ after the Mardi Gras parade, but one place to pay particular attention to this year is Audie’s Olympic.

Right after the parade, it has Fresno band Glen Delpit and the Subterraneans performing. You can expect a Mardi Gras twist, as Delpit is a native of New Orleans.

Later that evening, Audie’s hosts traditional New Orleans-style brass when Viper City Brass Band hits the stage.

They’ll be joined by funk band DB & The Struggle. Cover is $5.

You can also look out for Viper City Brass Band playing outside the Tower Theatre during the Mardi Gras parade.

Tower parade

1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14 / Olive Avenue, between Fruit and Maroa avenues / Free / (559) 497-8362

The annual Tower District Mardi Gras parade is taking a “Roman-tic” turn this year, as it also falls on Valentine’s Day.

That means a Roman theme — likely featuring a mix of cupids and New Orleans revelry.

Last year, an estimated crowd of 10,000-15,000 came out to watch floats, live bands, choral groups, dancing troupes and drum lines march a mile stretch of Olive Avenue in the heart of the Tower District.

The event will go on, rain or shine.

Crawfish, New Orleans style

11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 -2 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17 / Crawdaddy’s restaurant, 333 E. Main St., Visalia / cost varies / (559) 625-5300, crawdaddysvisalia.com

Crawdaddy’s already has a number of Louisiana dishes on its regular menu, such as gumbo, Cajun popcorn crawfish, jambalaya and étouffée. But for Fat Tuesday, it also will have New Orleans-style boiled crawfish in a bucket with corn on the cob and potatoes.

Live music and drink specials (think New Orleans hurricanes) will round out the evening.

Blue Street Jazz Band

8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 / Sequoia Brewing Co., 777 E. Olive Ave. / $5 / (559) 264-5521

If you’re looking for a party with tradition, and one that’s true to New Orleans’ jazz tradition, then the place to be is Sequoia Brewing Co.’s Tower District location where Blue Street Jazz Band will perform.

The group, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2008, plays traditional jazz, Dixieland and brassy Mardi Gras music, and has been packing people into the Sequoia Brewing Co. location since it was Butterfield’s.

Fat Tuesday dinner

6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 / Trelio, 438 Clovis Ave., Suite 4, Clovis / $55 / (559) 297-0783

Trelio’s New Orleans-inspired dinner is rustic, yet upscale. Crawfish bread and oysters Rockefeller starts off the meal, while a hearty gumbo (with duck, Andouille sausage, shrimp, okra, and blue crab) is a requisite.

Pork chops with smoked Gouda cheese grits, braised collard greens and black- eyed peas with tasso ham is the main course. Bananas Foster finishes the dinner.

Call ahead for reservations.

By Mike Osegueda and Joan Obra / The Fresno Bee