Shack Attack
Bubba Mac Shack
520 Bay Avenue, Somers Point
609-926-7575
www.bubbamac.com
by Robert Rossiello
Just about anyone who takes in the Somers Point nightlife knows about the Bubba Mac Shack. Opened in 1999, the Shack has become known along Bay Avenue—and all of South Jersey, for that matter—as the prime spot for blues music and Southern cuisine—barbecue, to be exact.
Herb "Bubba" Birch bought the business when he retired from a career in health care management, and, along with his son and partner, Mac Birch, turned a location that had been home to several failed restaurants into a rousing success by using it to fulfill a personal dream—he wanted to create a center for authentic live blues music in South Jersey.
The Shack definitely grew into just such a center, with live bands six days a week beginning in May and lasting through the summer on three separate stages, including both regional acts and national stars like Big Bill Morganfeld (Muddy Waters' son), Mavis Staples and James Cotton. Bubba himself became something of a local star, with his Bubba Mac Blues Band playing live every Tuesday on Channel 15's Live at the Bubba Mac Shack. (Bubba's the one who looks like a cross between Jerry Garcia and Santa Claus.)
But the music is only part of the story: According to Mac Birch, he and his father were frequent visitors to New Orleans, where the pair got the inspiration for the main food and beverage draw of their restaurant. The Shack's baby back ribs are local legend, along with New Orleans jambalaya and various specialty Creole dishes. The New Orleans flavor extends to the bar, with home-grown specialty cocktails such as the Gator-Bite Martini and the Mac Daddy Hurricane (recipes below).
They are part of an extensive specialty cocktail menu that is just one element making the Bubba Mac Shack one of South Jersey's true originals.
The Art Director for Casino Connection Magazine, Robert Rossiello is an artist, a photographer, and a free-lance writer. His work has been published in several literary magazines and his visual art has been exhibited throughout the Jersey shore. In addition to his designing Casino Connection, he also contributes articles for The Tides, Monthly Mixologist and Multimedia sections.
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