Lent signals the unofficial start of seafood season in New Orleans, and modern restaurants are serving up much more than the traditional fried and boiled dishes. Here are top picks and don't-miss dishes right now.

In California, Nevada City and Yountville in the Napa Valley host Mardi Gras celebrations on Saturday, March 1. San Diego takes the King Cake with its five-day bash from Friday, Feb. 28 to Tuesday, March 4. This year Ash Wednesday falls on March 5.

The 200-plus-year-old North Side Skull and Bone Gang starts out in Tremé around 5 a.m., reminding residents to remember their ancestors on the last day before Lent.

King cake is rooted in religious tradition—it’s a Catholic custom that’s believed to have been adapted from an ancient Roman one—but in New Orleans it’s also a “huge economic boon,” Bronwen Wyatt, a baker and a recipe developer,