Mardi Gras guide: Where to find crawfish boil, jambalaya, King Cake in Lexington
Mardi Gras is coming and do you know where your Cajun food is? If not, LexGoEat.com is here to help you find it. And we have King Cake as well.
The pastry is a special treat that is shared before and on Fat Tuesday. And if you get the baby in your piece, tradition says you bring the next cake.
This year, Mardi Gras looks different, both here in Lexington and in New Orleans with parades canceled.
But you can still get into the spirit with a taste of the Bayou here in the Bluegrass. Here is a list of local Lexington restaurants, bakeries and caterers offering a menu of King Cakes, gator etouffee and much more:
Alfalfa
141 E. Main St., AlfalfaLex.com, 859-523-0426; Since Alfalfa is only open on weekends for now, the restaurant will celebrate Mardi Gras on Sunday, Feb. 14, with a three-stack Bananas Foster pancake special and fish and shrimp with cheese grits.
B’s Bakery
241 W. Main St. in Frankfort, 502-699-2222; B’s Bakery is taking orders for King Cakes. Each serves eight to 10 for $24.99. Mardi Gras-themed cupcakes and cookies also available.
Bayou Bluegrass Catering
861 S. Broadway, Bayoubluegrass.com, 859-523-7915; Bayou Bluegrass will have a shipment of crawfish coming from Louisiana to go with the other offerings including fried alligator, King Cake, Beignets and more. Make reservations for dining in Friday or Saturday 5:30 to 8 p.m. or Tuesday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Or pre-order family-style dishes for four for curbside pickup from 3 to 6 p.m.
Beer Trappe
811 E. Euclid Ave., thebeertrappe.com, 859-309-0911; The Beer Trappe is tapping special new-to-Kentucky beers from Fat Head’s Brewery in Ohio. Fat Heads for Fat Tuesday will have Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA, Fat Head’s Hop Juju Imperial IPA, Fat Head’s Bumble Berry Ale and Fat Head’s Groovy Juice New England IPA starting at 4 p.m.
Bourbon n’ Toulouse
829 Euclid Ave., Ilovecajun.com, 859-335-0300; Bourbon n’ Toulouse this year will offer only curbside pickup. But to make up for that they are spreading the celebration out to Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. There will be family meals, quarts and gallons of menu favorites and daily specials including Alligator Étouffée, Swamp Dogs, Shrimp Creole and King Cake. Order online, pick up at the door 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Broussard’s Delta Kitchen
135 E. Main St in Georgetown, Broussardsdelta.com, 502-642-4193; Instead of a buffet this year, Broussard’s is offering a special menu for $38 per person with entrees including shrimp boil, shrimp Creole, fried platter, blackened redfish, blackened shrimp and more. Dessert options include creme brulee, white chocolate bread pudding, chocolate celebration cake and peanut butter pie.
The Cellar
3256 Lansdowne Dr., cellargrille.com, 859-317-8301; The Cellar will have specials on Tuesday including Jambalaya, Gumbo, Chicken Creole, Shrimp Creole, Beignets and Hurricane drink specials.
Donut Days
185 Southland Dr., Donutdaysbakery.com, 859-277-9414; Donut Days is taking orders for King Cakes and has them in store now. Available in cinnamon, cream cheese, apple and cherry flavors for $21.99 and comes with beads, coin, and baby in a presentation box.
DV8 Kitchen
867 S. Broadway, dv8kitchen.com, 859-955-0388; DV8 will have special cinnamon rolls on Feb. 15 and 16, complete with Mardi Gras colored sugar.
Gumbo YaYa
294 E. Brannon Rd., gumboyayaky.com, 859-245-9292; On Feb. 16, Gumbo YaYa’s Brannon Crossing location will be the only one open. The menu will feature alligator sauce piquant, shrimp Creole and lobster etouffee, along with many other favorites available for dining in. Free slices of King Cake, beads, and give-aways for dine in customers on Fat Tuesday. You also can pre-order a whole King Cake for $22.50, Mardi Gras party packs to feed 10 for $40 and quarts or gallons.
J. Gumbo’s
801 N. Limestone, jgumbos.com, 859-286-9239; For Mardi Gras, J. Gumbo’s will be inside the Greyline Station common area 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. serving items for carry out. Menu includes gumbo with okra and rice, veggie piquant and rice (vegan and GF), drunken chicken over jambalaya, maque choux with andouillle sausage and rice, Appalachian voodoo beef over cheesy Weisenberger grits and crawfish and andouillle stew, and King Cake bread pudding.
J. Render’s
3191 Beaumont Centre Circle, jrendersbbq.com, 859-533-9777; Will offer a four-course Cajun dinner, including gumbo, shrimp etouffee, jambalaya and King Cake for $40 per person. Reservations required; available for curbside pickup or dining in.
KSBar and Grille
1030 S. Broadway, ksbarandgrille.com, 859-554-6081; Will offer Mardi Gras specials starting Monday through Feb. 21 including Cajun chicken and sausage gumbo served with cornbread, shrimp po-boys served with house-cut chips, oyster po-boys, shrimp and grits, beignets, Bananas Foster sundaes and Hurricanes.
Magee’s Bakery
726 E. Main St., Mageesbakery.com, 859-255-9481; Magee’s is taking orders for King Cakes with cinnamon filling, cheese filling and raspberry filling. Magee’s is not open on Tuesdays but will be open from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Fat Tuesday.
Martine’s Pastries
Martine’s Pastries, 400 East Third St., martinespastries.com, 859-231-9110; is taking orders for King Cakes to pick up either Saturday or Fat Tuesday. It’s $29 for a 10” (about 8-10 servings) King Cake, available with pistachio or chestnut cream filing.
Midway Bakery
510 S. Winter St. in Midway, themidwaybakery.com, 859-846-4336; Pre-order King Cakes online. Small is $14.99, large is $35.
The Mousetrap
3323 Tates Creek Rd., Mousetrapky.com, 859-269-2958; House-made Gumbo available for the whole month of February as a soup of the day, plus red beans & rice, jambalaya, Cajun shrimp, muffaletta salad, spicy okra and cauliflower available in the deli.
Proud Mary BBQ
9079 Old Richmond Rd., Proudmarybbq.com, 859-913-5611; On Feb. 16, Proud Mary will have a heated tent and live music as well as boiled crawfish, Hurricanes, boudin balls, chicken and sausage jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish etouffee, fried catfish, barbecue shrimp, red beans and rice with andouille, fried aligator, aligator and sausage etouffee, corn moux choux, catfish covered in crawfish etouffee, barbecue brisket, smothered cabbage, seasoned green beans, Beignets and King Cake.
Ramsey’s
All locations, Ramseysdiners.com, 859-210-1626; Ramsey’s will have a Mardi Gras special for $18.95 featuring one pan of crawfish, a cup of gumbo, a bowl of red beans & rice and French bread, available for dining in or for carryout. You can also get the meal for four for $90. Voodoo Breeze, Hurricanes and Bloody Creole drinks also available.
Red State BBQ
4020 Georgetown Rd., redstatebbq.com, 859-233-7898; Red State BBQ is hosting its first crawfish boil with fresh crawfish overnighted, along with alligator sausage, from Louisiana. Crawfish, alligator po’boys, pistolettes filled with your choice of Bourbon n’ Toulouse’s Chicken or Southwest Crawfish Etouffee, gumbo and drink specials will be available.
Roulay
107 W. Short St., 859-253-2222; From 3 to 8 p.m., Roulay will have crawfish boil, barbecu shrimp, fresh gulf oysters, gumbo, etouffee, red beans and rice, maque choux with boudin sausage, Beignets, gooey butter cake with lemon curd, bananas foster Basque cheesecake, drink specials and more.
Selma’s
720 Henry Clay Blvd., selmascatering.com, 859-971-2763; Selma’s will have Mardi Gras specials Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as well as in the Grab and Go case all week, including jambalaya, shrimp creole, shrimp and grits, red beans & rice, fried fish sandwiches, and mini King Cakes from Bourbon Bakery.
Shamrock Bar and Grille
Both locations (Patchen Drive and Hartland; shamrocksky.com), will have jambalaya, gumbo, chicken creole, shrimp creole, Beignets and Hurricane drink specials.
Smithtown Seafood
501 W. Sixth St., Smithtownseafood.com, 859-303-4100; For Mardi Gras, Smithtown will have vegan jackfruit Creole fritters with vegan remoulade and shrimp etouffee.
Wallace Station
3854 Old Frankfort Pike in Versailles, Wallacestation.com, 859-846-5161; Wallace Station is offering a take-home Mardi Gras feast for four for $40 including a quart of chicken andouille gumbo, crispy shrimp and chicken over jambalaya, maque choux and King Cake.
Windy Corner Market
4595 Bryan Station Rd., Windycornermarket.com, 859-294-9338; Windy Corner will have a Mardi Gras take-home kit that serves four for $40, including a quart of chicken andouille gumbo, a quart of red beans, shrimp etouffee, white rice, garlic-toasted French bread and King Cake.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
