Good times keep rollin’ at area eateries

Did Mardi Gras season pass you by with nary a king cake or a Hurricane cocktail?

Don’t fret. Though the carnival season officially ended Tuesday (Fat Tuesday!), several local restaurants are extending their Mardi Gras specials — or offering year-round the food and drink inspired by New Orleans (which isn’t the origin city of the festivities, but is certainly the heart of them in the U.S.) I have rounded up some favorite classic New Orleans-inspired food that you can still find around town.

These pillowy fritters get their decadence from a good deep fry and a heavy-handed dusting of powdered sugar. If the coating doesn’t make you cough at least once, there’s not enough on those square doughnuts. Wash it down with some coffee (bonus points if it’s chicory) to cut the sweetness.

Try the sweets at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, a fast-casual restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Port Orleans resort at 1251 Riverside Drive in Lake Buena Vista. You’ll get six for $4.99 — and you can add caramel, raspberry or chicory coffee ganache dipping sauces for $1.99 each.

Get a little messy with a seafood boil and order these socalled “freshwater lobsters.” You’ll rarely get more hands-on with your food.

Find them at King Cajun Crawfish, which also offers shrimp, crab and other seafood boils at seasonal prices. This restaurant is at 924 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando.

A combination of 151 rum and drink mix, this cocktail is a New Orleans classic. Created by bar owner Pat O’Brien in the 1940s after an influx of rum, the drink is served in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp.

You can find the concoction at Universal CityWalk’s Pat O’Brien’s, a replica of the famous Nola restaurant —right down to the “flaming fountain” patio. Just don’t let that $13 cocktail rock you like a hurricane. The restaurant is at 6000 Universal Blvd. in Orlando.

Find the plastic baby stuffed into these colorful coffeecake-pastry hybrids and you’re king for the day — or buying next year’s cake.

Grab a mini cake ($8) for you and a friend or two at Valhalla Bakery, 2603 E. South St. in Orlando. You won’t have to search long for the baby — it’s perched on top of the cake for safety reasons.

Cooking red beans with a leftover ham bone or two on Mondays became a tradition in New Orleans in the 19th century — housewives were able to leave the pot simmering as they dealt with laundry. Trade out laundry day for work day and pot for slow cooker, and not much hasn’t changed. This hearty meal is still a good way to end the day.

Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen serves up the mix along with a host of other classics such as muffuletta sandwiches and crawfish etoufee. Grab some red beans and rice for $11.25 at 2203 Aloma Ave. in Winter Park or 494 State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs.