February 21, 2012

By Shaneeva Yassin

It may look like an ordinary Miami day. The sun is out, palm trees are swaying and the beach is calling. But it’s not just any normal Tuesday. It’s Fat Tuesday!

Fat Tuesday is the last day before Lent in the 46 days preceding Easter in the Christian religion. And what better way to celebrate the beginning of Lent than with a party! New Orleans may be known for its lavish street parties with Cajun music, giant floats and costume revelers dancing their way down the street tossing beads. But hear ye hear ye, there’s lots of places to celebrate Fat Tuesday in Miami and the Beaches just as well. So get your purple, green and gold on for the festivities!

Whether you’ve been to Miami before or it’s your first time, many say you have to check into Fat Tuesday. It’s the well-known home of frozen blender drinks mixed with grain alcohol, slurped with a straw. The result: Brain freeze followed by suspended sensibility. On Tuesday, plan to drink to live DJs as you don plenty of beads around your neck, or where ever you fashion them. There are three locations to choose from: Cocowalk in Coconut Grove, South Beach on Ocean Drive and Bayside Marketplace near downtown Miami.

What better way to celebrate Fat Tuesday than with an authentic crawfish boil?  The Alibi on Espanol Way also has $5 Hurricanes, authentic New Orleans jazz, poboys, beads, and king cake! Join on the fun beginning at 5 p.m.

On Tuesday, Hogzilla’s Inspired Barbeque is celebrating Mardi Gras in a big way. The  South Beach barbeque spot will feature plenty of music, crawfish eating challenges, hot sauce contests and a chance to win a $100 bar tab. Who doesn’t love a giveaway? For the ladies, dinks are on the house from 9 to 11 p.m. and plenty of beads will be tossed in the air.

The folks at The Stage Miami are hosting a major fête in honor of the Big Bayou’s most infamous party! Enjoy Happy Hour’s 2 for 1 drinks from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free Petanque tournament in their courtyard and beads, lots of beads! There’s also music by The Roosevelt Collier Trio, Guitar Center King of the Blues ’09 Finalist.

The Fish House in Kendall is hosting their 5^th annual Mardi Gras and Zydeco Festival. The blowout celebration begins at 4 p.m., as partygoers watch thousands of crawfish straight from the Gulf get boiled alive. Expect plenty of drink specials. Live Zydeco Music, a type of folk music that evolved from the Creole culture in Louisiana, will set the mood for the party. Enjoy live music by The Fish House All-Stars, starting at 6 p.m.

RA Sushi will be hosting a “MardiRA” party on Tuesday from 7 p.m. till close.  Get into the Mardi Gras spirit with special discounted ($5) appetizers and classic New Orleans drinks like the Hurricane. A DJ will help recreate the lively, dance-centered, French Quarter atmosphere. Party-goers are encouraged to wear beads and costumes.

Don’t let the partying stop there. While we celebrate Mardi Gras here, Brazilians are also celebrating, but with Carnavale in Rio, the world’s biggest party. Tens of thousands of people from all over the world take to the streets with vibrant colors and tantalizing beats.

If you’re in Miami, you can samba until dawn in celebration as well.

Sushi Samba Dromo is turning Lincoln Road into Brazil with their annual Carnavale party. Samba dancers, drummers and DJ’s keep everyone on their toes. Enjoy their special Carnavale menu and sip a refereshing Carnavale cocktail while you watch a live feed of the original celebration in Rio de Janeiro.

Share This

---

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•