NOLA Eats - Exploring New Orleans Food, Dining and Restaurants » mardi gras

Show Me Your Tidbits | Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes

Leslie — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:00:19 +0000

I think it’s obvious that king cake is A Pretty Big Deal in the New Orleans area. I’ve seen them loaded with babies, shoes and other trinkets, but never keys, let alone “Keys To The Court” — the Windsor Court, that is. I received this press release last week, but there is still time to snag these perfectly giftable cakes. To make things more interesting, there is now more than one winning king cake that could be delivered to a lucky recipient.

In honor of Mardi Gras 2010, the Windsor Court Hotel in downtown New Orleans is offering a limited supply of 100 Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes. Prepared by the pastry chef of the hotel’s award-winning Grill Room Restaurant, Shun Li, these delicious, four-inch cakes will feature traditional colors and a cream-cheese filling, accompanied by a set of special Windsor Court Mardi Gras beads. Several of the 100 cakes will contain a set of “Keys to the Court” that will allow the recipients to enjoy a complimentary two-night, weekend stay at the Windsor Court and dinner for two in The Grill Room.

The 2010 Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes can be ordered by calling The Grill Room at 504-522-1994. Cakes are $20 apiece, including shipping and handling. Orders will begin shipping this week.

And The Winner Of The King Cake Giveaway Is…

Leslie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:04:27 +0000

…Twitter user @elpajaronegro, with this hilarious story:

…a friend was so drunk during the Endymion parade that she took pictures of all the floats with her camera phone…that doesn’t actually have a camera on it.

I guess her Voodoo powers worked, after all. Congrats and enjoy your Maurice French Pastries king cake!

As promised, I’m going to now share my most embarrassing Mardi Gras moment. I would greatly appreciate it if this story were to never be brought up in my presence, thankyouverymuch.

Let’s go back to high school, those all important teen years. I slept over at my girlfriend’s house, as we had plans to go to the parades the next morning. I had forgotten a shirt, so I borrowed one of hers. Now, this is the ’90s, so this wasn’t just any shirt. It was a black, short-sleeved babydoll mohair sweater tee, probably purchased at Contempo Casuals. Yeah. So, you know how Mardi Gras day usually starts out chilly, then warms up as the day goes by? This Mardi Gras day wasn’t any different, so I eventually had to take my jacket off. As the day got warmer and warmer, I noticed that people on floats stopped throwing me stuff and began to look at me strangely. I had no idea what was going on, until I saw what they were looking at. My oh-so-fashionable mohair shirt had begun to shed and it looked like I had not shaved my underarms for two years. I had black “hair” coming out from the cap sleeves sticking to my underarms, wild, furry and untamed. Man, I’m glad the ’90s are over.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Show Me Your Tidbits | Got The Baby? Win A $100 Gift Certificate To Maximo’s Italian Grill

Leslie — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:00:35 +0000

It looks like we’re not the only ones with king cake on the brain. Maximo’s Italian Grill, one of my favorite restaurants, is holding a fantastic Carnival season-long giveaway starting today, Wednesday, January 6. Here are the details, straight from their Facebook Fan Page:

The Twelfth Night at Maximo’s bears gifts of wine, cocktails, and KING CAKES! That’s right, king cake every Wednesday night ’til Fat Tuesday… whoever gets the baby receives a $100 Gift Certificate! And as always, Wednesday nights are our “Bar Night” with half off drinks from 6PM to 9PM.

Half-off drinks, socializing with friends, complimentary king cake and a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to a great restaurant…I think that’s a pretty awesome Wednesday night in New Orleans.

Kicking Off The Carnival Season With A King Cake Giveaway

Leslie — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:39:07 +0000

Whether you were born and raised here or a recent arrival, you’ve got to have at least one king cake to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I want to help you kick off your Carnival season properly with a FREE king cake from my favorite bakery, Maurice French Pastries.

How do you get a shot at winning? Comment on this blog entry, give us a mention on Twitter (we’re @NOLA_Eats) or drop us a comment on the NOLA Eats Facebook Page with your funniest or most embarrassing Mardi Gras moment. It’s that easy and, man, it will be worth the price of this king cake just to get a chuckle from all of your crazy stories. Just be certain that I can contact you somehow should you win.

Now, there is one catch; You must be a local to win this prize as you must be able to pick up the cake from the CBD. (Sorry to my out-of-town readers! I promise to have something for you guys in the near future.) You can even do a drive-by if you don’t want to park, but you’ve got to come pick it up. I will take the names of those participating and use a list randomizer to select the winner. Stories will be collected until 11:59pm tonight, NOLA time. The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon, right around lunch time, which is when you can come and claim your delicious Maurice French Pastry king cake. Good luck!

Okay, hold up! It has occurred to me that not all my readers know what this Mardi Gras business is all about. There are a slew of people that are more knowledgeable in the history and traditions than I am, so here are a few great links to graze upon:

Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide (a necessity!)
Nola.com’s Mardi Gras In New Orleans
NewOrleansOnline.com – Mardi Gras News and Stories
New Orleans Mardi Gras wiki on Wikipedia.com