Mardi Gras Party at Swoop House Garden

That’s true, actually.

Mardi Gras Weekend at the Swoop House Garden really takes the cake, baby.

We mean, the patio at Stephen Shallcross’ New Orleans-inflected Sawyer & Co. eatery is pretty big, relatively speaking. But for a whole Taste of Louisiana shindig this weekend, featuring live music by Bubba Coltrane, because Mardi Gras is coming up next Tuesday?

For a thoroughly enjoyable, physically distanced yet socially inspired celebration with a menu of char-grilled oysters (and raw ones), eggplant muffaletta, crawfish pies, veggie quiche, sensation salad, some of the tastiest chicken-and-sausage jambalaya ever, and of course a king cake for dessert? Not to mention an array of delightful cocktails?

That kind of gathering in these pandemic times requires the, ah, the cultivated verdant expanse of the entire Swoop Wine Garden, and that’s precisely where it’s gonna be: On Sat., Feb. 13, with seatings (for parties of 2-6) at 11am and 1:15pm.

You know that Shallcross fellow will be glad to greet you with a masked smile and whatever bright bowtie he’s wearing that day. Go ahead – ask him where some of the garden’s many plants came from.

Not that there won’t be a similar but slightly less epic celebration at Sawyer & Co. on Fat Tuesday itself – because there will be.

And not that you can’t just order yourself a Sawyer & Co. king cake for pickup from now until then – because you can.

Yes, even with proper safety precautions in place, even with a bit of chill in the air, we reckon the various venues of 2 Dine 4 Hospitality are offering some legit opportunities to laissez les bon temps rouler.