https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/food/2013-02-13/i-didnt-go-out-for-mardi-gras/

I Didn't Go Out for Mardi Gras

By Virginia B. Wood, February 13, 2013, 1:45pm, On the Range

I stopped celebrating major drinking holidays years ago, not too many years after the Armadillo World Headquarters closed; back when the Cedar Door was still in the original location, Antone's was on Guadalupe, and no one here even thought about throwing a Mardi Gras party!

In the early days of my recovery, it was uncomfortable being around so much alcohol and not being able to drink, but thankfully, that eventually passed. At some point I realized that watching other people drink just wasn't recreational for me. I mean, after everyone else has had a couple of drinks and your consciousness is not altered by alcohol, you're really not at the same party anymore, anyway.

I still do love an excuse for a good food party, though, which is why I throw my own potluck birthday party every summer and still get excited about all the dishes that make up a perfect holiday meal, whether I actually end up cooking them or not. That's a big part of the reason I scheduled stories about the food associated with New Orleans and Mardi Gras for our blog over the past week - the reporter in me had an excuse to sample King Cakes, search out beignets, muffulettas, po'boys, gumbo, and etouffee and share the information.

As a result of all the research, I got invited to parties, found out about all day crawfish boils, and discovered some very enticing special menu items. And that's when I encountered the stumbling block - there was something special only available at Drink.Well (207 East 53rd) for Mardi Gras - a King Cake Twinkie! What more outrageous, decadent, celebratory item could you ask for than a filled homemade cake napped in brightly colored sugars? I wanted one so badly, I almost broke my own rule!