MARDI GRAS TUESDAY AT PARISH CAF??

Parish Caf?? Open This Tuesday: Parish Caf?? (60A Mill St., Healdsburg), the North Bay's finest New Orleans eatery, is generally closed on Monday and Tuesday, but they will be open for Mardi Gras.

Doors open at 3 p.m., and the fun continues until 8 p.m., with live music by the Dixie Giants.

Instead of the regular menu and table service, there will be stations featuring beer, crawfish boil, gumbo, red beans and rice and more. Sales will be based on tickets, which are $5 each, which means you buy, say, four tickets and then just hang out, snagging a beer or a bowl of red beans or whatever else you like.

There will be no advance sales and no reservations. The cafe's regular hours are Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to

3 p.m. You can peruse the breakfast and lunch menus at theparishcafe.com.

Da Puna Bruddahs at Sweet T's: On Monday, Da Puna Bruddahs bring their breezy aloha tunes to Sweet T's for Happy Hour, from 4 to 7 p.m. You can enjoy a bit of island magic and indulge in some southern-inspired nibbles at the same time. Think of it as practice for Mardi Gras.

There is no cover charge for the music, but if you want a seat you should arrive earlier rather than later. The band has developed quite a following here. If you like to try before you buy, you can check them out on youtube.com.

Sweet T's is located at 2097 Stagecoach Road, Santa Rosa.

If you want to stay for dinner, reservations are a good idea. Make yours at sweetttssr.com or by calling 595-3935.

===============================================================

Mardi Gras Beads for Bread: On Tuesday -- that's fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras -- from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Costeaux French Bakery (417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg) will trade you a loaf of bread for your Mardi Gras bead necklaces. All you have to do is show up and surrender your beads at the counter.

Each guest may receive one loaf of bread and the offer is good while the bread lasts.

If you're more of a morning person and not interested in surrendering your beads, wear them to the bakery between 7 and 10 a.m. Tuesday and receive a cafe au lait gratis.

===============================================================

Spring Farm Forum: Clark Wolf and Marcy Smothers are hosting their first farm forum of 2014 next Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Barlow Event Center.

The theme is "Farms and Farm Trails, A Taste of Sonoma's Farming Treasures."

This forum focuses on the tourism industry, especially Certified Tourism Ambassadors (CTA), but is open to everyone. Speakers include Barney Aldridge of The Barlow; Paula Downing, manager of the Sebastopol Farmers Market; Lou Preston of Preston of Dry Creek; Carmen Snyder, executive director of FarmTrails; Ariana Strozzi of Valley Ford Mercantile and Wool Mill; Evan Wiig, community organizer with the Farmers Guild and Duskie Estes, chef and co-owner of Zazu restaurant.

Cost is $15 for the general public and $10 for members of ctanetwork.com, who may sign up for a tour of The Barlow, which begins at 4:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to assistant@clarkwolfcompany.com.

===============================================================

Ruthy's Real Meals: For several years, Ruth Lefkowitz has delivered delicious home-style meals to Sonoma County families. Now she's opening a takeout shop and celebrating with a ribbon-cutting and open house today from 4 to 7 p.m.

The new shop is located at 8492 Gravenstein Highway, Suite O, in Cotati, in the Apple Valley Plaza, where Johnny Java's is located.

For more information about the company's services, visit ruthysrealmeals.com.

===============================================================

Occidental Railroad: The Bodega Land Trust hosts its third event in its 2014 Walks and Talks series next Saturday, March 8.

The topic is "The History of our Local Railroad" and features Rick Coates, a local railroad buff. Coates's lecture will feature maps and history that expands on his previous railroad talks. This event is more talk than walk.

It talks place at the Salmon Creek School in the Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center (1935 Bohemian Highway, Occidental).

Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.

For more information, contact walks@bodegalandtrust.org.

===============================================================

Mardi Gras in St. Helena: Long Meadow Ranch Winery and Farmstead (738 Main St., St. Helena) is hosting its annual Mardi Gras Masquerade Dinner on Tuesday night.

The a la carte menu reads like a trip to Cajun Country, with smoked pork rillette, fried oyster salad with buttermilk dressing, Cajun pork sausage, fried oyster po'boy, jambalaya, beef grillades with grits, shrimp and crawfish etouffee, trout Pontchartrain, red beans and rice, dirty rice, collard greens, bread pudding and more.

There's King Cake, too, and whoever gets the baby wins dinner for two.

Specialty cocktails include Sazeracs and Hurricanes.

Fiddlearound will provide live Cajun and Zydeco music.

There will, of course, be party favors and more.

Costumes and masks, while not essential, are encouraged.

For reservations, visit longmeadowranch.com or call 963-9181. Seating is between 5 and 9:30 p.m. and, although reservations are encouraged, walk-ins are welcome, too.

===============================================================

Clash of the Sommeliers: If you love both wine and competition and if money is no object, you may want to snag tickets for this year's Clash of the Sommeliers Wine Dinners at Farmhouse Inn (7871 River Road, Forestville).

This year, there will be just two dinners. The first, on March 6, has winemaker Ted Lemmon of Littorai up against Ryan Stetins, sommelier of REDD in Yountville.

The second dinner pairs Chris Gaither, sommelier of Gary Danko in San Francisco, and Duncan Arnot Meyers, winemaker at Arnot Roberts.

Chef Steve Litke will prepare a seasonal dinner, with pairings contributed by both competitors. At the end of the evening, diners will vote for their favorite pairings for each course.

There also will be an opportunity to hear the reasoning behind the specific pairings.

Cost is $215 per person, which includes tax and gratuity.

For reservations, call 887-3300 or email innkeep@farmhouseinn.com.

Michele Anna Jordan hosts "Mouthful" each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com. You'll find her blog, "Eat This Now," at pantry. blogs.pressdemocrat.com.