Behold the crayfish – a freshwater crustacean of the genera Cambarus and Astacus, re-sembling a lobster but much smaller. Better known as crawfish because of some strange misinterpretation of the Old High German word, krebiz, meaning “edible crustacean.”

In Arkansas, these delightful red dev-ils are called crawdads. In Louisiana and other parts, they have many handles includ-ing mudbugs, yabbies, freshwater lobsters, spoondogs, gravediggers and (my personal favorite) ditchbugs.

Since 2001, Ron and Penny Pigue have been serving up crawfish to happy custom-ers from near and far. (How far? According to manager Jahmi Stevens, a couple from China makes an annual trek to Paragould just to sample the cuisine.)

“We began with our crawfish farm and then gradually expanded and began serving boiled crawfish outside the warehouse in a screened-in porch,” said Ron. “Then it just kind of blew up, and here we are serving lunch and dinner!”

Located on U.S. 412 on the east side of Paragould, just eight miles from the Missouri border, is the world headquarters for the Delta Crawfish Market, which supplies wholesale and retail cus-tomers with the freshest farm-raised seafood, including shrimp, oysters and crawfish. Next door is the Cajun Café, a restaurant serv-ing this fresh seafood.

Decorated in an eclectic combination of New Orleans purple and gold mixed with Arkansas hunting and fishing mementos, the restaurant is bustling during the lunch hour. Regulars come from northeast Arkan-sas and southeast Missouri and often dine here multiple times a week.

We tried a bit of everything on our visit, and the little extras (or as Louisianans call it, lagniappe) were evident from the start. The Pigues have their own line of seasonings and sauces, and each table is adorned with hot sauce, Cajun seasoning and, on request, their special “fire seasoning.”

The Cajun Sampler is billed as a “real crowd pleaser,” and it did not disap-

point. We tried Delta poppers (fried crawfish tails), frog legs,

boudin (a French type of sausage), mini meat pies served with remoulade and Cajun ranch dress-ing, and fried dill pickle

spears, our favorite. The homemade batter did not

overpower the appetizers, and each one was unique, fresh and

tasty.We then moved onto the entrees

and were faced with a dilemma – what to choose? The Cajun Café offers more than 30 lunch entrees, ranging from Cajun favorites (black-

ened catfish, seafood fettuccini alfredo, Ca-jun hamburger steak, crawfish etouffee and hot and spicy shrimp) to an assortment of fried choices (catfish, shrimp, delta poppers, oysters and gator bites).

Among these choices, two stood out. The crawfish etouffee was quite simply out-standing, among the best we have ever tasted in or outside of New Orleans. The hot and spicy shrimp was a real standout as well, us-ing the original Cajun Café boil spices and seasonings.

There are also healthier options, such as salads, grilled foods and boiled specialties. Among the grilled options is a sushi grade yellow fin tuna, lightly seared. Other favor-ites include grilled shrimp and catfish. But there was one lunch entrée that we could not pass by, the Boss Hogg.

The Boss Hogg is a boneless 12-ounce (lunch portion) hand-cut rib-eye steak, sea-soned with the restaurant’s blackened sea-soning and topped with green onions. Our medium-rare creation was juicy, and the ad-dition of the seasonings made it all the better.

But what about the mudbugs, you ask? Of course we had to order the crawfish. They were in season (early this year, we were told), boiled in hot and spicy seasoned water, and after a quick refresher lesson from Ron on how best to eat them (“ain’t nothin’ to it!”), we tried our best to con-sume the two-pound platter full.

The Cajun Crawfish of Craighead

CountyBy Doug White

The staff of Delta Crawfish Market

Photos by Bret Curry

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One last thing, again in the area of “a little something extra.” There is a large foot-pedal operated basin in the middle of the restaurant. Why? After eating a big helping of crawfish, and before you partake of the Cajun Café’s incredible desserts (yummy bread pudding and a peach cobbler made from a secret recipe), you probably need to wash your hands. Stroll on over to the tub and wash away. It is just another brilliant touch at this classic restaurant.

Delta Crawfish Market and the Cajun Café (www.deltacrawfish.com) are located at 4660 U.S. 412E just outside of Paragould. The telephone number is 870-335-2555. The Delta Crawfish Market is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The Cajun Café is open for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The Delta Crawfish Market sells fresh and frozen seafood, seasonings and even equipment for your own crawfish boil. If you can catch Ron, he might give you a few tips! Want to know more? Find video interviews, photos, recipes and more at Arkansas Living on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/ArkansasLivingMagazine. Do you have a restaurant to recommend for Doug? Contact him at doug.white@aecc.com.•

APRIL 2012 ARKANSAS LIVING I 41