Gambit and Ernst Cafe are giving away 10 VIP tickets to this Sunday’s Bacchus Bash to 1 lucky person in our Treat Your Friend’s to Royalty Mardi Gras Giveaway. 1 runner up will also win 4 tickets to Orpheuscapade. We will be notifying the winner by email tomorrow morning. Must be 21 to enter.

Enter here to win. Increase your chances of nabbing a ticket, share with your Facebook friends and tweet your peeps— with the stipulation if they win, you get a ticket too for sharing.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Gambit’s Winter Restaurant Guide is now on the streets, so pick up your copy to have a comprehensive guide of New Orleans eateries listed by cuisine.  We also hit the streets to ask New Orleanians what their favorite restaurant is? See the video here. Is your favorite restaurant represented?

Questionland is a new place for Gambit readers to ask questions, get answers, and share your infinite knowledge with the New Orleans community.

Where is the best place to go for a birthday dinner?

Where would you take a crazy friend coming to town?

Where is the best place to watch the Superbowl besides Miami?

Gambit has our answers- but now we want to hear yours!

Coming soon: Prizes for the best questions, and the “know-it-all” who answer the most in a time period.

So ASK. ANSWER. And feel free to let your curiosity carry you away.

If you heart DJ Pauly D (from MTV’s  Jersey Shore)- line up tomorrow night at 6:00 pm at the Boot to get your tickets to pump your fist on Thurs. Feb 11.

If GTL is not in your vocabulary and you don’t own anything Ed Hardy, you will be safe on South Peters Street at Republic New Orleans, whose new ads assure us that they will not be paying Snookie a $2,000 appearance fee to show up and drink all of their booze.  

Poor New Jersey.

What is your New Year’s Resolution?

Gambit and Maple Street Bookshops Electionland is off to a running start this morning, with Troy Henry and James Perry leading the way with answers to your questions. The rest of the candidates assure us that they will begin to post this afternoon.

Log on to Electionland to read what the mayoral candidates are saying, comment on their answers, or just give them a thumbs up or thumbs down.

If you were too late to ask the mayoral candidates a question- don’t worry it’s not too late to ask the Council At Large, District A, B, C, D, E and Assessor candidates your questions too. Be informed when you vote on Feb. 6th.

Gambit is breaking a new band into the New Orleans music scene and we need your help…voting is currently taking place for our five finalists:  Bionica, Dirty Bourbon River Show, Dodging Catherine, Herrington and Los Po-Boys-Citos.

Listen now to sample tracks from each of the finalists and vote for your favorite.
One voter will win an Ipod Touch courtesy of Best Buy and dinner for two at Rambla before the show.

Also!!! Save the date and join us on Thursday, November 12th at Republic New Orleans to hear the winning band play a free show.  One lucky attendee will win a 32 inch flat screen tv (again courtesy of Best Buy).

The night will include drink specials from Republic and—- courtesy of Play Nola: Register for membership (free) at the event and they will give you a free drink ticket (limited supply).

Join Gambit on Oak St. tomorrow night for the first “3rd Thursday on Oak St.” event.

Today at Gambit everyone is hustling to put together the 2009 Best of New Orleans issue.  It is hard to believe that 4 years ago as we were putting the 2005 issue to bed, we logged out of our computers that Friday afternoon, completely unaware that we would return to 3923 Bienville to find the building caked in mold.  The last email I read that day simply alerted the staff  “we were watching the storm”.  

And today the memories are still unavoidably real (the view out my office window is a boarded up house that is leaning toward the right, it’s next door neighbor was just knocked down last week).

In my opinion the “best” thing to come of the storm were the thousands of volunteers who came from all over the world to help rebuild New Orleans.  And four years later, thankfully they are still here- visiting and living.

The St. Bernard Project (SBP) has played host to many of those volunteers and next week they will be launching their 4NOLA campaign; to commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane “K” and keep the cause alive as they continue to fundraise and build homes to help residents return.  The 4NOLA campaign will include a 24-hour build and a kick-off party at House of Blues.

If you want to get your hands dirty
The SBP 24-hour build will begin on August 28th at 4 p.m. and will finish with a moment of silence on August 29 at 4 p.m.  Call Gretchen at 504-723-6837 to volunteer.

If you would like to rebuild a home without sweating and a cocktail in hand
Attend the Saturday night fundraiser (8/29) at House of Blues.  The ticket price includes open bar and musical performances by Kermit Ruffins, Spencer Bohren and more.   The event’s fundraising goal is to completely fund four homes, a cost of $60,000.  Ticket Cost: $75.  Call the SBP office at 504-277-6831 to order.

And as a testament that the rest of the country is still thinking of us, 100 additional 4NOLA fundraisers will be taking place across the country throughout the next year coordinated by past SBP volunteers.

Drink, dance and support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on Thursday night at Le Phare. 

GR4CF was created 5 years ago by fashion designer and Decatur LA owner, Leah Bauer in honor of her daughter GraceRose to raise funds and awareness of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). 

GraceRose was diagnosed with CF at birth, and since has gone on to live a beautiful, though medically and treatment-saturated life. Her joie de vivre inspires and engulfs all, and through the GR4CF foundation, Leah has raised more than $50,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

If you want to hit a great party tomorrow night for an important cause, stop by Le Phare.  

GR4CF Fizzypop Fundraiser
Thursday, July 9
Le Phare
523 Gravier St.
$10 donation

This event is sponsored in part by Gambit.