Creole & Cajun Eats, Jazz, and More
Get your NOLA favorites all year long on LI - Cajun & Creole cookin' and don't forget to check these venues for Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras specials. Laissez le bon temps rouler!
Things To Know About NOLA & Mardi Gras
- NOLA is an acronym for New Orleans, Louisiana
- The similarities between Creole and Cajun cuisines are due to the French heritage of both cultures, along with the new ingredients to which French cooking techniques were applied by the Creoles and by Cajuns. Both types of cooking have culinary roots in France, with a nod to Spain, Africa, and Native America, and to a lesser degree to the West Indies, Germany, Ireland, and Italy.
- Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season
- Mardi Gras season in New Orleans is a time of fun. Extravagant parades and masked balls are hosted in the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Trinkets and the well known bead necklaces are thrown to the crowds from the parade floats.
- King Cakes are a popular tradition during Mardi Gras- scroll below for Sweet Treat Locations
2024 Mardi Gras Events on LI
Mardi Gras is 2/13/24!
2/14 - 2/21 - Big Daddy's - Celebrate Mardi Gras With Music, Food & Fun All Week Long.
2/17 - Paramount - Mardi Gras Party!
2/17 - Po'Boy Brewery - Mardi Gras Kickoff Party
2/19 - Mardi Gras 5 Mile Run to the Great South Bay Brewery - serving 4 amazing charities
2/21- Bay Shore's Fat Tuesday Pub Crawl
2/21 - Bobbique - Fat Tuesday with NOLA inspired menu and live music
2/21- Grasso's - Mardi Gras celebration- Masquerade Night
Check Cafe Joelle - Traditionally has offered up a special Mardi Gras menu
Cajun & Creole Cookin' On LI
Big Daddy's- Your spot for all things Southern including catfish, jambalya, gumbo and po'boys!
- 1 Park Lane, Massapequa, NY 11758
Biscuits & Barbeque- down-home comforts in this converted trailer. Cash only but bring your appetite - fried pickles, cheese grits and more!
- 106 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501
Blackbirds Grille- specialty Cajun dishes, jambalaya, crawfish smokehouse baby back ribs and shrimp po’ boy, to name a few are fan favs on Google.
- 553 Old Montauk Highway, Sayville, NY 11782
Bobbique- preparing favorite NOLA food inspired dishes for Fat Tuesday or enjoy Memphis bbq any day of the week.
- 70 W Main Street, Patchogue, NY 11772
Cajun Bucket- with The Cajun Bucket, Chef Ko and his team can finally share what is all the fuss with seafood in Cajun.
- 472 Hempstead Turnpike, West Hempstead, NY 11552
Carolyn's Southern Comfort Cuisine- Carolyn's Southern Comfort, bringing southern comfort cuisine to New York.
- 2564 Hempstead Tpke, East Meadow, NY 11554
Louisiana Joe's - serving up breakfast and lunch Tuesday-Saturday with fixin's like the Fat Tuesday Omelette and a whole variety of Po'Boy's. Or grab quick prepared meal from Louisiana Joe's Market right next door.
- 488 Merrick Road, Oceanside, NY
Voodoo Crab- bringing the spirit of New Orlean's to Long Island
- locations in RVC, Massapequa & Centereach
Sweet Treats To Celebrate
Centerport- Blondies Bakeshop- celebrate with fun themed treats including cookies, cupcakes and king cakes.
Huntington- Duck Island Bread Company- serving up King Cakes as a specialty item around Fat Tuesday
Patchogue- Mademoiselle Patisserie - king cakes for holiday
Can't make it to a bakery- have it delivered straight from Louisiana.
Jazz
Grassos- Grassos features live music throughout the month- check their calendar for the jazziest option. Annually they host a Fat Tuesday celebration with the best of the blues performed. Check out their Mardi Gras specials at that special time of year.
- 134 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
The Jazz Loft- The Jazz Loft's mission is one of Jazz preservation, education, and performance, and has quickly become the premier destination for all things Jazz. Presenting a full performance calendar of local, national and international artists in the period 1940s second floor performance space the Loft also has an extensive education program as well.
- 275 Christian Avenue, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Support Jazz History on LI
The Coltrane Home
The Coltrane Home in Dix Hills- The Coltrane Home is a museum and learning and research center that provides an interactive archive of the Coltranes and jazz and other music within a restoration of the Coltrane Home in Dix Hills. John Coltrane was an acclaimed American saxophonist, bandleader and composer, becoming an iconic figure of 20th-century jazz with albums like 'Giant Steps,' 'My Favorite Things' and 'A Love Supreme.'
- Each year Coltrane Day is hosted as part of the Huntington Summer Arts Festival
