Mardi Gras shakes off Katrina

Sunshine and mild temperatures helped bring the crowds out yesterday as New Orleans’ first post-Katrina Mardi Gras neared, but a stroll through the French Quarter is a lot easier now than it was this time last year.

“Right now, you can walk right down the middle of Bourbon Street. Before, it was so crowded, it was almost an adventure trying to get across,” said Scott Escarra, the manager of the famed Café du Monde. Sales of beignets, the cafe’s signature pastries, were down about 25%, he said.