The Big Apple can party like the Big Easy!
Mardis Gras is next week, and Brooklyn has plenty of spots where you can gather your krewe to splurge before the long Lenten season begins. So here are four of your best opportunities to celebrate Fat Tuesday!
Hold everything!
The expansive event space Freehold will take on the flavor of N’awlins for its “Bourbon Street” party tonight, featuring fire eaters, stilt walkers, and cajun cuisine. Happy hour starts at 5 pm, and the tunes of New Orleans will start bumping at 7 pm, with the High and Mighty Brass Band keeping it going well into Ash Wednesday.
“Bourbon Street” at Freehold (45 S. Third St. between Kent and Wythe avenues in Williamsburg, (718) 388–7591, www.freeholdbrooklyn.com). Feb. 25 at 5 pm. Free.
Party animals
Roll with a canine krewe at Sean Casey Animal Rescue’s Mardi Gras Party! This action-packed night at Shenanigan’s Pub will include a tongue-blistering hot sauce tasting contest, games, Big Easy-style cocktails, live jazz from singer Gina Healy, and a raffle to win a trip to New Orleans! The all-inclusive ticket will also score you a mask, beads, a cajun buffet dinner, and five raffle tickets.
Mardi Gras Party at Shenanigan’s Pub (802 Caton Ave. at E. Eighth Street in Kensington, (718) 436–5163, seancaseyanimalrescue.
Fat Brewsday
Threes Brewing in Gowanus is brewing up a Fat Tuesday dance party with two full rooms dedicated to boogie-woogie and blues. Before hitting the dance floor, you can load up on King Cake and Sazeracs. The event — with no cover! — kicks off at 5 pm with dishes and drinks from the bayou; followed by disc jockeys spinning at 8 pm, and the band 3 Ring Bender at 9 pm.
Fat Tuesday at Threes Brewing (333 Douglass Street between Third and Fourth avenues in Gowanus, (718) 522–2110, www.threesbrewing.com). Feb. 25; 5 pm–2 am. Free.
Bourbon treat
Pick up a sweet new recipe for the Mardi Gras season at Creme and Cocoa Creamery’s “Beignet and Bourbon Ice Cream Making Class,” where you can learn to make their own fried doughnuts, bourbon-infused chocolate, and bourbon ice cream. Each amateur baker will leave the two-hour class with recipes they can use for a lifetime, and two pints of ice cream to gratify immediate cravings.
“Beignet and Bourbon Ice Cream Making Class” at Creme and Cocoa Creamery (1067 Nostrand Ave. between Lincoln and Lefferts avenues in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, (718) 245–6286, www.cremeandcocoa.com). Feb. 21, 24, and 25 at 6:30 pm; Feb. 22–23 at 5:30 pm. $50.
