Bloody marys for a quarter: That got your attention

Acadiana is changing its brunch formula next month, and the lower prices will especially interest those who like to have a cocktail or three with their mid-Sunday meal. Beginning Feb. 21, the prix-fixe Sunday brunch between 10:30 and 2:30 goes from $32 to $29; order it, and you can get bloody marys and mimosas for only a quarter each. The restaurant is calling it the Parking Meter Special, a dig at the District's new $2-per-hour parking rates.

At a recent staff meeting, Jeff Tunks, chef-partner at Passion Food (the restaurant group behind Acadiana), told of bars in New Orleans that offer bloody marys for a dime. The restaurant decided to adopt the cheap tradition here with the parking-meter twist. "Sometimes you have to laugh at some of the [bureaucratic] nuisances you're put through," says Passion Food partner Gus DiMillo.

The brunch itself won't differ too much from the restaurant's current offering. The new menu replaces one that included a complimentary cocktail. Musician Marshall Keys will continue to set the scene with jazz music. Mardi Gras beads and balloons will lend a festive atmosphere; Tunks is working on a new children's menu that he hopes to debut that day as well.

There's no limit on the number of quarter-cocktails one can order during brunch, within reason, of course. Says DiMillo, "Hopefully, we don't have to cut you off."

-- Julia Beizer