Mudbugs:
A taste of New Orleans,
right in Collins
Story and Photo
By Paul Chapman
Cooking with class - Mudbugs' chef/owner Frank Emich pan sears a tasty offering in the kitchen of his new restaurant on Route 39 in Collins.
Owner/chief Frank Emich has brought his favorite type of cooking, Cajun and Creole, to the Southtowns, where patrons can find dishes reminiscent of New Orleans, and some standard bill of fare as well.
Starting with the appetizers, folks can savor anything from steamed crawfish (they're called mudbugs down around Lake Pontchartrain), to raw or steamed clams, to stuffed banana peppers, or that old standby, wings.
Looking for a hearty sandwich? Try one of Mudbugs' pulled pork sandwiches, or perhaps a fried shrimp Po Boy or a smoked cajun sausage offering. Combine one of those sandwiches with a bowl of home-made shrimp gumbo soup and you've got a meal.
Dinners run the gamut from a rack of smoked ribs (hickory smoked in Frank's own smoker on-site) to blackened catfish to Jambalaya. And then there is Frank's Mudbug Pie, made with crawfish tail meat, bell peppers, onion and tomato in a lightly-Cajun-seasoned cream sauce, topped with puff pastry, baked to order, and served with a steamed crawfish sitting on top of the browned and flaky crust.
Mudbugs also offers dinner specials several nights of the week. Every Tuesday, the special of the evening is all-you-can-eat barbeced pork riblets in a delicate, flavorful sauce, while fresh Yellow Pike is the special every Thursday and Friday evening.
Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., Mudbugs offers an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, with quite a selection, for a very reasonable price. And if the weather is cooperative, Mudbugs has a roof-covered outdoor patio, where diners can relax with their meal while overlooking the rolling fields, wooded thickets and a pond behind the restaurant.
Emich grew up in the Collins/Hamburg area, and has been involved in the restaurant scene since he was a teenager.
After high school he went to ECC City Campus for their culinary program, and spent six months of study in London, England.
He has been the banquet chef at Dock of the Bay in Hamburg, a chef at O'Daniels in South Buffalo, and the sous chef at Rue Franklin in Buffalo. He was the head chef at Orsini's Ristorante in Concord, and since that establishment closed last year, he has concentrated his efforts in bringing Mudbugs to life.
Hours at Mudbugs are Tuesday to Friday, 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mudbugs is closed on Mondays.
Mudbugs is located at 2990 Rte. 39 in Collins.
For more information, call 532-4233.