Laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll)! Fat Tuesday, a guilt-free day of excess before the Lenten season officially begins, is right around the corner (on Tuesday, February 28). To celebrate, these Houston hot spots are ready to throw down. From extravagant feasts to fun-filled fêtes, here’s where to eat, drink and party this Fat Tuesday:
BB’s in the Heights, 2701 White Oak
Go full-on Mardi Gras with the sixth annual Bands, Beads and Bugs at BB's in the Heights, held from 5 to 11 p.m. Partygoers can expect live zydeco, glowing Hurricanes and brews and BB’s signature “Tex-Orleans” crawfish.
The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby
The Big Easy Quartet rocks the house every Tuesday beginning at 9 p.m. No cover.
Bistro Provence, 13616 Memorial
Celebrate Mardi Gras, French-style. Instead of a traditional pancake supper, Bistro Provence has declared Fat Tuesday Crepe Day. All day long, guests can nosh on three kinds of crepes with a variety of fillings, featuring the oh-so-Français pancakes for both a main course (chicken and mushroom) and dessert (chocolate banana).
Brennan’s of Houston, 3300 Smith
Brennan’s will host its annual Mardi Gras soiree, complete with bead tossers, a palm reader, a jazz band and specialty cocktails, beginning at 5:45 p.m. Executive chef Danny Trace will also serve a three-course prix-fixe menu featuring choices such as snapping turtle soup, mardi foie gras, Gulf fish Pontchartrain, Atchafalaya crawfish étouffée, king cake and Vieux Carré beignets ($65 per person, excluding tax and gratuity). Guests can make reservations between 5:45 and 10 p.m. by calling the restaurant at 713-522-9711 (no online reservations will be taken).
Eight Row Flint, 1039 Yale
Eight Row Flint has been celebrating Fat Tuesday every Tuesday this month, and it's ending its festivities with frozen Hurricanes from beverage director Morgan Weber, boudin straight from The Best Stop Supermarket in Scott, Louisiana, and cracklins. Join the party from 5 to 8 p.m.
Galveston Mardi Gras, The Strand District
Texas's largest Mardi Gras celebration culminates with Galveston's Fat Tuesday festivities. Expect beads, booze and plenty of bons temps.
Irish Cowboy, 2300 Louisiana
Hit the Midtown party spot for all kinds of Fat Tuesday revelry, including $4 Hurricanes, $3 Abitas, crawfish (beginning at 5 p.m.) and live zydeco (beginning at 6:30 p.m.).
Laurenzo’s Bar & Grill in Midtown, 1910 Bagby, Suite 100
The new Midtown spot is celebrating the day by hosting a Fat Tuesday crawfish boil, beginning at 4 p.m. Get $5-per-pound mudbugs alongside $4 house margaritas, $2.50 domestic beers and $3 craft drafts. The restaurant offers free parking for all diners in the garage above the restaurant (entrance is on Bagby just south of Pierce).
Get your Mardi Gras mudbug on at spots like Ragin' Cajun, Irish Cowboy and Willie's Grill & Icehouse.
Photo by Laity Lodge Youth Camp
Fat Tuesday celebrations will start at 11 a.m., with south Louisiana classics and boiled crawfish. Happy hour is from 2 to 7 p.m. and includes drink and oyster specials; beads will be given out at lunch and dinner; and live zydeco bands will rock the house from 6 to 10 p.m.
Rice University Farmers Market, 6100 Main
Even Rice U’s Farmers Market is getting down with Mardi Gras. From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., the special Fat Tuesday event will feature Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Sugar Bee Apothecary, Salento Bistro and more alongside live music and food samples.
Saint Arnold Brewing Company, 2000 Lyons
Those looking for a decadent feast should hit Saint Arnold’s Mardi Gras Beer Dinner at 6 p.m. Fat Tuesday is made truly special with five beer-paired courses, including duck pâté paired with Weedwacker; fried oysters Rockefeller paired with Pub Crawl Pale Ale; and baked lamb shanks with Bishop’s Barrel No. 16. Reservations are $70 per person (plus tax), and space is very limited.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, 3217 Montrose
Pancake lovers can chow down on king cake pancakes from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lucky guests who find the baby (or “the jack”) will win a $25 gift card to Snooze; and since it also happens to be International Pancake Day, every Snooze restaurant will be donating 100 percent of all pancake sales to Urban Harvest.
The Square at Memorial City, 303 Memorial City
Head to Fat Tuesday at The Square for some Mardi Gras revelry from 6 to 8 p.m. Guests can enjoy gumbo by State Fare Kitchen & Bar, as well as live zydeco, beads and New Orleans-flavored cocktails and cold beer.
Willie's Grill & Icehouse, 17492 Northwest Freeway
The Jersey Village location of Willie’s Grill & Icehouse is throwing a Cajun-style Beers, Bugs and Blues party featuring a 5,000-square-foot tent, a full-size bar, a stage and a dance floor for Mardi Gras revelers of all ages. In addition to its full menu, Willie’s will be serving up crawfish with potatoes and corn for $7.99 per pound. The party begins Thursday, February 23, and runs through Sunday, with the celebrations ending on Fat Tuesday.
