Finding authentic Cajun cuisine miles away from the Louisiana bayou may seem like a dream, but a tiny, self-described ‘shrimp shack’ in Springfield has been churning out those dishes for years.
Think Po Boys. Gulf shrimp. The smell of file powder and bay leaves. You’re starting to get a sense of the fare served up at Shrimp and Bayou Classics, located at 3245 West Republic Road in Springfield.
The building doesn’t look like much. It’s small, red and white and has an awning over the window where customers can place an order, and there’s no indoor seating.
But what customers can’t see is the add-on kitchen, where every meal is cooked to order.
Owner Chris Crow told KSMU this is their eighth year in operation.
“It took us several years to get everyone to understand what we are, but this is normal in Louisiana. It’s a shrimp shack, just like you’d find on the bayou,” Chris Crow said.
Crow says about 80 percent of the food served here actually comes from Louisiana, even down to the mayonnaise and bread they use.
He travels to Louisiana every other week to pick up all of the necessities and sometimes every week during crawfish season. He said they buy their seafood fresh, then bread and freeze it until it’s ready to use.
Crow is from Missouri originally, but went to college at Louisiana State University, where he learned to cook.
“I tell everyone I majored in crawfish and beer, and I did real well,” Crow said.
At the most, there are four people working at a time. Crow says customers won’t see him too much, since he’s usuallyin the back cooking.
“We have so many transplants from Katrina and so many people from New Orleans that come in and they just love it because this is true New Orleans. I mean everything here is from there, and that’s what they like. And that’s the whole genesis of the idea, is you actually get real cajun food and it tastes just like if you were in New Orleans,” Crow said.
Shrimp and Bayou Classics is only open Thursdays through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.