Maw-Nita’s Dishes Live on at Pinchers in Maurice

Many restaurant owners and chefs have been influenced by their grandmothers. Pinchers owner and head recipe guy — Kevin Colomb — is one of them.

The 33-year-old Erath native is building a long and distinguished career in the culinary industry. He has worked the back and front of the house (restaurant lingo for kitchen and eating area) in several Acadiana- area eateries. Colomb learned the intricacies of restaurant operations. He upped his food business sense by attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Hospitality Management program.

When Colomb decided to open his food establishment, he knew what well of experience to draw upon: a lady his family affectionately refers to as Maw-Nita. She is his father’s mother.

The end result of Maw-Nita’s help is tasted in many of the restaurant’s menu items.

“I watched her cook. We wrote recipes together. And I tucked all of that away,” Colomb said. “To this day she helps out. For instance, when we did barbeque, I needed a rice dressing. She helped out with the recipe.”

Pinchers is located on the south side of Maurice, right off Maurice Avenue (Louisiana Highway 167). The establishment has garnered the attention of Cajun food lovers from all over the region.

The menu screams old-fashioned bayou cooking flavor. One of the restaurant’s most famous items is the crawfish wontons. The menu describes them as “rich and cheesy crawfish stuffed wontons, deep-fried until golden brown and served with cane syrup.”

An entree that regulars order is the Landry platter, which happens to be inspired by Colomb’s cousin who is from Delcambre — home of the famous shrimp festival.

“On this plate, you’ll get shrimp straight from the Gulf and bought in Delcambre,” Colomb said. “It has fried shrimp, grilled shrimp, stuffed shrimp, a shrimp pistolette and shrimp etouffee over rice.”

One dish that comes straight out of Maw-Nita’s kitchen ­— but is prepared for commercial purposes — is the Cajun eggs and rice.

“This is so good,” Colomb said. “We cook eggs and shrimp together and serve them over rice.”

Colomb’s cooking skills have served his team well. He started his ownership journey with long-term food truck stops in Erath and Kaplan before taking the plunge with the big restaurant location in Maurice. He has loved every moment of business ownership.

“My dad helped me get started years ago. We’ve all grown together,” Colomb said. “And we have done good.”

Colomb likes to push himself. He aspires to be the best version of himself every day.

When there is a chance to sit down and take a break to eat though, Colomb prepares a menu item associated with Maw-Nita.

“We call it Maw-Nita’s famous fish. It’s her fried catfish recipe with our Pinchers sauce,” he said.

Try This!

1 | Macdaddy Fries

Eating mac-n-cheese tends to bring adults back to childhood. This version of the dish is an adult enhancement. The flavor of the crawfish and cheese will get you dancing a Cajun waltz.

2 | Red Fish Acadiana

A saltwater fish prepared with ingredients that harken back to old South Louisiana cooks. This is a plate full of culinary satisfaction.

3 | Shrimp Stew

It is truly a blessing to indulge in a bowl of stew influuenced by traditional Cajun culinary kitchen skills. The roux gravy and fresh shrimp belong together.

Pinchers
9511 Maurice Ave.,
Maurice
337-740-8888
eatpinchers.com