NY Times: NYC Mardi Gras Roundup

Weekend Miser

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Dr. John is scheduled to perform at Le Poisson Rouge on Saturday.

Dr. John and the Lower 911 will supply the music to get the party started at Le Poisson Rouge on Saturday at its fifth annual Nolafunk Mardi Gras Ball, the first of two carnival-theme events there this week.

Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, a New Orleans-inspired brass band fronted by the big-voiced Arleigh Kincheloe, will kick off the night at 8:30; Dr. John goes on at 10, and the Soul Rebels Brass Band follows at midnight. DJ Cochon De Lait will spin between sets.

Then on Tuesday, Mardi Gras day, the comedian and host Murray Hill leads a veritable second line of bands through Le Poisson Rouge for the Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball, a benefit for the Lower East Side Girls Club. Reverend Billy and His Gospel Choir; the Raya Brass Band; and the Loose Marbles, who offer swinging jazz, will be among the music makers accompanying an auction and a raffle. Prizes will go to the best costumes for an individual or krewe. (Nolafunk Ball, 7:30 p.m.; $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Two Boots Ball, 7 p.m.; $25; 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village; 212-505-3474 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 212-505-3474 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, lepoissonrouge.com.)

Other events on Tuesday:

New York’s Gotham Jazzmen are playing a free concert of Dixieland jazz at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. (Noon; Bruno Walter Auditorium, Amsterdam Avenue at 65th Street, Lincoln Center; 917-275-6975 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 917-275-6975 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, nypl.org/events.)

Mudville9 in TriBeCa is offering free tastings of Abita beers, brewed in Abita Springs, La., with flavors like the thick and dark Turbo Dog, the spicy Jockamo IPA and the potent Mardi Gras Bock. (6 to 8 p.m.; 126 Chambers Street, between Church Street and Broadway; mudville9.com.)

The Delta Grill is serving a buffet of crawfish, jambalaya, chicken Creole and red beans and rice, made by the chef Bobby Bouyer, a Louisiana native. It starts at 6 p.m.; music from the Citigrass Band at 7. ($20; 700 Ninth Avenue, at 48th Street, Clinton; 212-956-0934 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 212-956-0934 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, thedeltagrill.com.)

Jayna Morgan & the Sazerac Sunrise Jazz Band have traveled from the Big Easy to Brooklyn to play Gypsy and New Orleans jazz at Superfine. That restaurant offers drinks and sit-down dinner, but the costume contest and spontaneous dancing are free. (7:30 p.m., free, reservations recommended; 126 Front Street, at Pearl Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn; 718-243-9005 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 718-243-9005 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.)

And last, but certainly not least, in the realm of southern decadence, the Ace of Clubs and the Acme Bar and Grill have joined forces for a Mardi Gras super-party, with two floors of “food, beads and booze” and a show by the band Sidewalk Zydeco. (6 p.m.; entry is free, but food and drinks are not; 9 Great Jones Street, between Broadway and Lafayette Street, East Village; 212-677-6963 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 212-677-6963 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, aceofclubsnyc.com.)

HANGOVER HELPER

Bourbon Street Bar and Grill will be taking advantage of its namesake’s biggest night with its usual Tuesday specials of $5 hurricanes and free endless jambalaya bowls. But the restaurant actually puts the “fat” in Fat Tuesday on Wednesday — Cajun Foodie Day — with $5 tastings of Cajun-inspired specialties like fried alligator and boudin sausage po-boys. And as with any good French Quarter bar, the happy hour is actually eight happy hours, from noon to 8 p.m. (346 West 46th Street, Clinton; (212) 245-2030 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (212) 245-2030 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, bourbonny.com.)