The following is an article written by Richard H. Hronik III and published in the Daily News Record on Feb. 6, 2024. You can read it here or below.
CARNIVAL OF EATS
Local Restaurants Celebrate Mardi Gras
Restaurants in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are preparing to celebrate Mardi Gras with special dishes and celebrations. The Cracked Pillar pub in Bridgewater, and A Bowl of Good in Harrisonburg, are both celebrating the ending of Carnival. Through Tuesday – the last day of Mardi Gras – A Bowl of Good is featuring jambalaya and muffuletta sandwiches as specials.
Katrina Didot, the restaurant’s owner, said the specials were a longstanding tradition for the restaurant. “We’ve been doing it probably for the last 10 or 12 years,” Didot said. Didot added that she and other staff at A Bowl of Good aim to follow spiritual, as well as secular, traditions. “We are doing it for the whole of Mardi Gras,” Didot said of the specials. “This year, it started on Jan. 6, and ends on Feb. 14, and then we’ll start our Valentine’s specials. We kind of follow the liturgical calendar for our specials. A lot of your foods have some kind of a cultural tie to them.” As for the specials themselves, Didot said they’re consistent crowd-pleasers.
“Usually, people love it,” Didot said with a grin. “They’re both wonderful. Our jambalaya is very fully seasoned and packed with andouille sausage, shrimp, and chicken. Our muffaletta, we make our own homemade bread. It’s stacked with smoked meats, some of them we have smoked ourselves.
As for the Cracked Pillar in Bridgewater, their celebration will take place next Saturday. Patti Landes, the pub’s owner, said they were hoping to bring some winter fun to the town. “It’s just something different to excite the customers and staff,” Landes said. “It’s been a slower season in winter. These fun events tend to bring more people out to have a good time, so it’s fun for everybody.” With both food and drink specials and more, Landes said she sees the event as a lead-up to holidays coming in March. “We’re getting close to St. Patrick’s Day,” Landes said. “We’re always popping at St. Patrick’s Day so we’re going to do a little preliminary. We’re going to have decorations, we’re going to have a photo booth. Our staff is going to dress up in appropriate costumes. Just kind of pretend like we’re at the Mardi Gras.”