Juicy Seafood brings bountiful fresh seafood to the cityDate: 10/10/2018 SPRINGFIELD – Juicy Seafood brings something unique to greater Springfield: a seafood restaurant that specializes in the classic boiled dinner people associate with Louisiana.
The restaurant had its official grand opening on Oct. 7, but opened “soft” in August. Manager Daphne Yang told Reminder Publishing the public response has been good. The restaurant is part of a small chain started in Florida and will be expanding soon to Worcester.
State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez and Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi attended the grand opening. For the opening day, the restaurant donated 20 percent of its sales to the Springfield School District.
This reporter had to try the cuisine for himself and was joined by my wife, niece and father-in-law. The menu features some fried dishes, including shrimp, tilapia, catfish and oysters, but the main emphasis is the seafood boils.
As Yang explained the menu has many options with the price listed per pound. Blue crab (seasonal), shrimp with either the head on or off, snow crab legs, crawfish, clams, green mussels, black mussels, king crab legs, lobster tail and Dungeness crab are featured.
A diner can also make his or her own combination with half-pound amounts.
There is then the choice of seasoning with the choices being Cajun, garlic butter, lemon pepper or “Juicy Special,” which Yang said was the house specialty and a combination of all the flavors. A diner then can select how mild or hot the spice combination can be. We chose the Juicy Special with medium heat.
We chose a combination of shrimp, crawfish, snow crab legs, lobster tails and sausage. Each boiled meal comes with potatoes and corn on the cob with garlic bread on the side. If several diners want different spicing or ingredients, separate boil bags are made to order.
Understanding the potential for soiled clothes – which this reporter appreciated – the meals come with plastic gloves, a bib, bucket for shells, wet naps and plenty of napkins. My table quickly ditched the gloves in order to better peel or crack the shellfish.
Service was fast and we soon found ourselves confronted with a large offering of seafood. We dug in and found the spice combination was quite delicious with a small of amount of heat.
The seafood was flavorful and the variety we chose was a good mix. In a fast food world, this is a meal that was meant for savoring, as cracking open various shells do take some time.
The restaurant features lunch special with both boiled seafood and fried baskets. The establishment also has a full bar.
Juicy Seafood stands at 1404 Boston Rd. and is open Sunday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. For more information, go to www.juicyseafoodma.com.
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