Celebrate Fat Tuesday at Essen Haus, 514 East Wilsonstrasse, Madison, Madison’s best German restaurant. $45 gets you all you can eat and drink, including gumbo, jambalaya, hurricanes and oyster shots. Don’t forget the live Cajun music! (608) 255-4674, www.essen-haus.com.
If the nightlife just isn’t your thing, start your morning with a paczki, a deep fried Polish pastry usually filled with fruit, and topped with sugar and icing. But arrive at your local bakery early—most sell out by your first morning coffee break. If you’re lucky, yours just might take advance orders.
Wear the official Mardi Gras colors—purple (for justice), green (for faith) and gold (for power) to the Middleton Vino Incognito. $25 buys you a ticket to the annual Mardi Gras blind brown bag wine tasting event, complete with masks and beads, on February 19. Blue Spoon Café, 2831 Parmenter St., (608) 824.1810.
Steer this year’s Mardi Gras festivities away from the Bourbon Street mentality and make it a family fun event for all ages. Granite Peak Ski Area, Wausau, hosts its Mardi Gras Festival February 21-22. Silly slalom races, 50% Nastar races and the taste of “N’awlins” at their outdoor grill area are included on the agenda. www.skigranitepeak.com,(715) 845-2846.
It may be a week or two late, but Fire on the Bayou keeps the New Orleans Mardi Gras spirit going all the way through May! Tracing the history of New Orleans jazz, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater production pays tribute to the sounds of jazz, zydeco, Dixieland and the second line. www.milwaukeerep.com, 414-224-9490.
