A more subdued Mardi Gras

With Mardi Gras celebrations just a day away, many Newport-Mesa restaurateurs are finding themselves in a sensitive predicament celebrating the raucous Fat Tuesday just months after Hurricane Katrina.

Is it appropriate to honor excess and sin after a natural disaster destroyed most of the celebration’s birthplace? Many restaurants have decided to skip Mardi Gras events this year, but a few eateries are pushing forward with celebrations and shifting the focus from debauchery to charity.

“We want people to acknowledge that there was a serious tragedy, but continue to remember the vibrancy and energy of New Orleans,” said Heather Barbod, who’s helping to promote a charity dinner at the upscale Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa.

The nightclub’s chef, Stephane Beaucamp, will prepare several special Creole and Cajun dinners tonight, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope and Operation OC, which provide emergency services to evacuees living in Orange County.

Sutra co-owner Rob Stevens said he grew up celebrating Mardi Gras in Florida and his nightclub holds Fat Tuesday celebrations every year.

The restaurant opted to change the tone this year by incorporating the charity aspect, but the nightclub still plans to continue Mardi Gras staples like costume contests, dance parties and bead tosses. Sutra has also hired blues band “Oozie Blues” for musical entertainment.

“Mardi Gras is a fun time and not many people celebrate it around here,” he said.

In fact, the vast majority of eateries contacted had no plans to recognize the holiday.

“It’s so far away and a lot of people have not had the pleasure to experience it,” said Pete Devine, a bartender at the Stag Bar on the Balboa Peninsula. “I think if they ever went and visualized it, they would see what a wonderful atmosphere there was.”

Devine said the free spirit of Mardi Gras doesn’t go over well with the rigid rules of Newport Beach. In New Orleans, revelers can walk from bar to bar with beer in hand and drink on the streets. In Orange County, celebrations can only be held inside the bar, creating a sometimes claustrophobic environment.

Plus, Hurricane Katrina is still on everyone’s minds.

“I don’t think a lot of people are in the spirit,” he said.

For some local businesses, even hosting a relief event on Mardi Gras has been difficult. Steve Pickford of Jack Shrimp said his restaurant has had a difficult time finding healthy crawfish to sell during its annual Fat Tuesday seafood feed celebration. The shellfish is harvested near the Gulf Coast and many crawfish operations have still not recovered from the disaster.

“When Rita came through, it knocked all the salt water into the fresh water farms and killed everything,” he said.

That didn’t stop nightspot favorite Sharkeez, which held its own Mardi Gras celebration Friday night. Guests were charged a $5 cover at the door and the money went to the American Red Cross, manager Sean Swentek said.

“We like to have Mardi Gras celebrations every year, but we wanted to incorporate relief into our event,” Swentek said. “It’s almost like we still want to remind people that there’s a lot of folks out there who need help.”