How To Bring Mardi Gras Home

Mardi Gras is one of the only holidays that's only observed in one part of the country. It also happens to be one of the only holidays that's core objective is to have as good a time as humanly possible. And although you can't carouse your way down Bourbon Street from the comfort of your couch, you can enjoy some of New Orleans' most famous food and drink, or at least reasonable facsimiles thereof, courtesy of your own kitchen. While you can always head on down to your local supermarket and pick up a box of some Zatarain's jambalaya mix, why not order a few truly authentic touches to be delivered to your home?

So don't feel left out of the party on Tuesday — check out some of these websites and place your order for these deliveries before it's too late!

1) Crawfish
The Louisiana Crawfish Company, more than 25 years old, is the number one shipper of live crawfish, having shipped more than 1 million pounds last year alone. You can have them ship some of their crawdaddies right to your door at a very reasonable price, along with other Cajun specialties like boudin, crawfish pies, and specialties from Comeauxs including smoked and fresh sausages stuffed with things like alligator. They also sell king cakes, blue crab, Gulf shrimp, turtle meat, catfish, and frog's legs. Seriously, if you're into Cajun food and thought that this stuff was inaccessible to you, your day will get a whole lot better after browsing this site.

2) Oysters
The Gulf oyster is unlike any other, and seems to perfectly complement a squeeze of lemon, a dash of Tabasco, and a cold beer. The Cajun Grocer sells them both shucked and unshucked with the option of tossing in a shucking knife, and a dozen of these will make you feel like you're sitting at the bar at Bourbon Street's Desire. There are also a lot of other authentic down-home Cajun food items available for purchase through the website.

3) Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix
No sugary drink is as synonymous with New Orleans as the Hurricane, a rum-based, passion fruit-flavored concoction that's so sweet that you can hardly taste the alcohol (even though it's mixed 50/50 with the mix). While some might use the powdered mix, we recommend the liquid, which is the exact same formula that goes into the authentic recipe served on Bourbon Street. On their website, you can also order some of their signature Hurricane glasses and several other varieties of mix, including their signature Cyclone.

With these three websites at your disposal, you'll be able to cook up an incredibly authentic Cajun feast for Mardi Gras, and wash it all down with Bourbon Street's finest sugary cocktail. One thing is missing though...

4) Beads

What's Mardi Gras without Mardi Gras beads? The Mardi Gras Outlet is essentially an online Bourbon Street novelty shop, complete with hundreds of varieties of beads in varying degrees of ostentatiousness, decorating kits, table décor, hats, masks, costumes, and even CDs with a soundtrack.

As it's written on every Pat O'Brien's Hurricane glass: Have Fun!

Dan Myers is the Eat/Dine Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @sirmyers