Where Y'

Where Y'at !?!! February, 24 2001 Norco, California

As the new year got geared up, the question began arising more and more often. When was the next party?

By the beginning of February we had finally set a date and started letting folks know. I knew enough to take an extra day off to prepare..

We had the equipment, we had the experience, we just didn't know what the weather would do. A storm system was slated to move through but miss us on Saturday.

The calm before the storm

No such luck.

We spent most of Saturday putting tarps over the edges of the porch and setting heaters up. The rain was intermittent but it wouldn't let up.

I started cooking at 1:30 p.m. and we just hoped folks would brave the elements.

We shouldn't have worried.

At least as many people showed up as last year. It was insane. They drank it as fast as we served it and ate it as fast as I cooked it.

The final tally? Nine turkeys, more than 100 biscuits, four pounds of boudin, one ham, one turducken, 100 pounds of crawfish, one plate of lumpia and ten gallons of gumbo.

At the bar: Four kegs, four cases of beer (including Dixie!), six plus gallons of vodka, a gallon of tequila, a gallon of rum, two bottles of Jagermeister, a quart of Jack Daniels, two gallons of wine and God knows what else.

By the end of the night more than 200 people had passed through the bar, across the serving table and into Mardi Gras history.

We shut the lights off at 3 a.m. forcing the last stragglers home then found our own spots to sleep.

Then we came back Sunday to clean it all up.