ASTORIA — Break out the beads.
A local gastropub is celebrating Mardi Gras with a special New Orleans-inspired menu, where diners will be able to taste one dish for free from Friday until Fat Tuesday.
Whiskey and wine bar Bourbon and Vine, at 36-05 30th Ave., is running the promotion to celebrate the holiday as well as the re-launch of its kitchen, helmed by new chef Thomas Pepe.
"For Mardi Gras we are bringing out the classics, the familiar New Orleans home-cookin' that turns eating into a party of bold flavors," Pepe said in a statement.
Dishes on the menu include chicken or crawfish and andouille gumbo, "dirty dirty" rice, zucchini hush puppies, Cajun chicken fries and walnut cherry bread pudding in a whiskey sauce.
Customers will be able to order one free item starting Friday through Tuesday.
They can wash their food down with classic Mardi Gras cocktails like Hurricanes, Sazerac — a rye-based drink that originated in New Orleans — and a Ramos Gin Fizz, made with gin, cream, organic egg white, simple syrup, orange flower water and club soda.
They range from $9-14.