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Brunch is $45 per person and dinner is $75. Reservations are required. To reserve your table, call 469-9898. For more information, visit jacksons.goodgrits.com. 2.10 KREWE OF WRECKS PENSACOLA BEACH MARDI GRAS PARADE Need more beads? Head to Pensacola Beach for the afternoon parade, beginning at 2 p.m. on Via de Luna. For more information, visit kreweofwrecks.com.
inweekly.net
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King of King Cakes
2.11 RED BEANS AND RICE LUNCH Enjoy a krewe-worthy meal of red beans and rice on Casino Beach at 11 a.m. For more information, visit kreweofwrecks.com.
You can have your cake and repent later.
2.12 FAT TUESDAY AT GREAT SOUTHERN RESTAURANT GROUP In addition to the Fish House, Atlas and Jackson’s regular menus, all restaurants will be offering New Orleans inspired dishes. At the Fish House, enjoy a dish of Cajun etouffee topped with crawfish. At Atlas, The Mardi Gras Roll, an oshi-style sushi with green and purple rice, smoked salmon, two different kinds of tobiko, and topped with a cucumber Mardi Gras crown will be available is part of the Tuesday half-off promotion. Lastly, at Jackson’s Chef Irv Miller has created an additional New Orleans-inspired Mardi Gras three-course fixed-price menu for $35 for the evening. To start, a tasso-spiced crab cake and rémoulade. The entrée feature is Creole jambalaya with slow-cooked chicken and gumbo greens and to finish, Calas (rice beignets) with praline sauce and vanilla ice cream. To reserve your table, please call the restaurant 469-9898. For more information on all restaurants, visit goodgrits.com. 2.12 SHOEBOX FLOAT CONTEST Watch area krewes compete in the shoebox float contest at the Sandshaker, located at 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd.
THE GRADING SCALE:
2.12 2013 FAT TUESDAY PRISCUS STREET PARTY CELEBRATION Starting at 7 p.m., South Palafox to Government Street and from Government Street to Tarragona Street, will be closed off for Fat Tuesday festivities. Watch the new King and Queen Priscus receive their crowns. The party continues until 12 a.m. 2.16 SPECIAL OLYMPICS 2ND ANNUAL MARDI GRAS FUN RUN AND WALK The Special Olympics of Escambia and Santa Rosa County will be holding their 2nd annual Mardi Gras Fun Run and Walk will begin at 12 p.m. at Osceola Golf Course, located at 300 Tonawanda Drive. Immediately following will be a Finish Line Party. You can register individually or as a team—great for krewes. All proceeds benefit local Special Olympic athletes. For more information, call Jessica Barrale, county coordinator to Special Olympics Escambia/ Santa Rosa at 291-6234 or jessicabarrale@ specialolympicsescambia.org. {in}
*Mardi Gras continues to grow each year. If you don’t see your krewe’s events feel free to send your press releases and event info to info@inweekly. net for next year’s calendar.
Appearance, Texture, Toppings, Sweetness, Overall Flavor, Filling, Baby (baked in or out)
THE CAKES:
Oh Snap! Cream Cheese King Cake, $17. 707 E. Cervantes St. 4663363 Oh Snap! Cream Cheese King Cake / photos by Samantha Crooke You don't have to be super into Mardi Gras to be into king cake. It's honestly one of the easiest—and tastiest—ways to enjoy Carnival season. No crowds, no beads, no potential DUI's from over indulging—just sweet, sugary goodness. The only thing you have to worry about with king cake is getting a good one. And maybe a little sugar induced weight gain or a future diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes—but that's exactly why Mardi Gras is followed by Lent. So you can have your cake and repent later. The IN staff decided to indulge and just focus on the first king cake worry— getting our hands on the best one in town. We ordered a variety of sizes and
filling flavors from around town and judged them by a set of proven and established criteria. We based our grading scale on one used by two New Orleans residents and king cake experts, Deborah Centola and Laura Jones. They have an annual tradition of ranking king cakes in the Crescent City— where king cakes are a way of life in a lot of ways. It's hard to imagine a more rigorous or balanced test: appearance, texture, toppings, sweetness (because as anybody who has ever had a bad king cake can attest, they can become super sweet, super fast), overall flavor, filling choices, and whether or not the baby is baked in or not (a must if you're following king cake tradition).
Sluggo's Vegan King Cake, $26. 101 S. Jefferson St. 791-6501 J's Bakery Blueberry Cream Cheese King Cake, $11.50. 2014 N. 12th Ave. 432-4180. Nancy's Raspberry Cream Cheese King Cake, $10. 555 Scenic Hwy. 434-0122
So read up and get ready to get your own king cake to celebrate the season. And if you don't see your favorite locally baked king cake listed, let us know. We'd love to be forced to eat another cake in the name of "research." Just remember, if you get the baby in your slice, you have to buy the next one. That's how king cake season works and how the good times roll on. {in}
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February 7, 2013
*GLUTEN FREE OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE
o v e r a ll w in n e r
most o ri g in a l
OH SNAP! CREAM CHEESE KING CAKE
SLUGGO'S VEGAN KING CAKE
Appearance
9
Appearance
6
Texture
8
Texture
7
Toppings
7
Toppings
10 - dinos!
Sweetness
9
Sweetness
5
Overall Flavor
8
Overall Flavor
6
Filling
cream cheese
Filling
none, pecans on bottom
Baby baked in?
yes
Baby baked in?
even better, a dino
J'S BAKERY BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE KING CAKE
NANCY'S RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE KING CAKE
Appearance
6
Appearance
8
Texture
7
Texture
7
Toppings
6
Toppings
6
Sweetness
8
Sweetness
8
Overall Flavor
7
Overall Flavor
7
Filling
blueberry
Filling
raspberry
Baby baked in?
yes, but a non-traditional one
Baby baked in?
yes