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Mardi Gras celebrations in the DC area include lively parades, festive parties, and delicious Creole-inspired cuisine. Venues across the DC Area are hosting events with live music, vibrant decorations, and traditional dishes like gumbo and beignets. To find specific details for this year's events, king cakes, and more, look here.

Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken: Astro is offering a special King Cake Doughnut for Mardi Gras, available for pre-order all month. King Cake doughnuts will be available in stores with a limited supply on February 13th. See the full menu here.

Buffalo & Bergen: February may be the month of love, but every four years or so, Mardi Gras rolls into the parade of love and fun -  Fat Tuesday is on February 13, then Valentine's Day the following day. Master mixologists Gina Chersevani and Frankie Jones of Buffalo & Bergen have crafted a special cocktail menu, acting as a love letter to New Orleans - from a city that is Queen of the Cocktails during carnival and mixing in a few choice words from the King of Poetry, Shakespeare, to deepen the desires with each sip. Try the "In a Hurricane of Passion", a playful riff on the classic New Orleans Hurricane, featuring Don Q Passion Fruit, Koloa Rum, pineapple juice, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup, and a Don Q 151 Floater. Not to mention the traditional Ramos Gin Fizz reimagined as the "Through the Heat of the Eve a Tide Did Rise", or a flavorful spin on the famed Sazerac and Old-Fashioned drinks with the "He Preferred Receiving His Love the Old Fashioned Way". 

Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery: The decorated sugar tinted with the three colors of Mardi Gras is flying around the kitchen at Bayou Bakery. Chef David Guas is keeping to his NOLA native traditions - from the award-winning Bayou Bakery King Cakes to popular Friday pop-up specials like the Li'l KC. Back by popular demand is the Mardi Gras in a Box that ships the celebration directly to your door, anywhere in the country. Bayou Bakery King Cakes [$50 + serves 14-16] are handcrafted daily, utilizing European techniques, without preservatives. They are filled with signature Creole Cream Cheese and Cinnamon. Finishing touches are the fluffy White Icing, with hints of Vanilla and Lemon, and the sprinkling of a trio of sugars in the traditional Mardi Gras colors. Included are a traditional Tiny Plastic Baby, tri-colored Mardi Gras Beads, and a History Card, sharing the tradition of the King Cake. The Li'l KC is a Carnival Cake-Doughnut  with hints of vanilla and cinnamon, and drizzled with icing and the traditional colored sugars [$4.75 each, 2 max per person- limited supply.] Available only on Friday mornings through February 13. Get your Gras on with Mardi Gras in a Box [$150++.] Enjoy festive supplies with the signature Bayou Bakery King Cake with DIY decorating kit, and more supplies to host eight party goers including beads, masks, boas, doubloons, Pat O'Briens Hurricane Cocktail Mix, and a Murder at Mardi Gras Mystery Game. For more information, click here. 

St Vincent Wine: Just in time for Mardi Gras, St. Vincent, the Black-owned DC wine garden inspired by the legendary Bacchanal in New Orleans, is kicking off its new all-day Sunday Brunch, plus live “Soulful Sundays” Jazz in February. Starting Sunday, February 11th, St. Vincent Wine’s new all-day Sunday Brunch will run from noon to 5:00 p.m. each Sunday, with “Soulful Sundays” live Jazz from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday brunch specials include $40 mimosa buckets, 25% off wines by the bottle, and happy hour prices for wines by the glass available all day at the bar. Menu favorites, created by Chef Joel Hatton, include sumac strawberry waffle, chicken fried chicken with duck fat fried hash browns and eggs, and burrata with green olive pesto. Reservations are available on Resy.