Have you tried Rock Shrimp? Or even heard of It? It’s the specialty served up at Dixie Crossroads, a favorite haunt of Central Florida locals for decades.
Dixie Crossroads is a genuine down-home restaurant that has flourished from a 30 seat diner that opened 35 years ago to the sprawling 460+ seat restaurant today.
The food in this popular off-the-beaten-path restaurant is fresh and wild caught. And a unique history creates a rich local legend. We’ll get to the history lesson after we’ve told you about the food.
Did we mention rock shrimp?
It’s pretty popular. Any idea how many of these crustaceans are served up at Dixie Crossroads in a year?
A whopping 100,000 pounds. That’s a mighty lot of Shrimp!
But before you get to the Rock Shrimp, you have to munch your way through a batch of light and fluffy balls of scrumpaliciousness.
Home Made Corn Fritters. Dusted with powdered sugar just for good measure.
Dixie Crossroads Corn Fritters – sooo delish!
Two million of them devoured every year. Just one more? Oh, go on then. Why not?
Because You need to leave room for the rock shrimp.
So what do rock shrimp taste like? They’re sweet and much more like lobster than shrimp. These mini crustaceans pack a punch when served broiled with dipping butter.
The menu is a decent size with too much choice to narrow down to a single visit.
Appetizers range from Calamari & Bell Pepper Rings, Rock Shrimp Fritters, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp to Fresh Oysters.
Dixie Crossroads Calamari & Banana Pepper Rings, Conch Fritters and Crabcakes
If you can’t decide on an entrée, try a combo:
Indian River Combo – Fish, Rock Shrimp and Scallops – $24.99
Shell Fish Combo – Rock Shrimp, Scallops and Shrimp – $24.99
Or Skip breakfast and go the whole hog. Or Platter.
Dixie Spectacular:
1 Maine Lobster, 1 dozen Rock Shrimp, 1/4 lb. Scallops, 1/2 lb. Crab Legs $39.99
Cape Canaveral Special:
1 dozen Shrimp, 2 dozen Rock Shrimp, 1/4 lb. Scallops $33.99
Add Maine Lobster $39.99.
The Wild Ocean Shrimp is seasonal and hugely popular too.
Shellfish Combo at Dixie Crossroads
For Meat Lovers, there’s Prime Rib, BBQ Ribs, Steaks and Chicken.
Something smaller? Baskets available:
Fried Clam Strips $7.99
Catfish or Cod $9.99
Mahi Mahi or Mullet $10.99
Crab Cake $11.99
Fried Oysters $14.99
Want to get your Southern on? The Southern Style Shrimp n Grits are delicious.
Oh, and put away your tux and cocktail dress, this place is home-country-casual, serving up delicious delights with a double dose of Southern hospitality.
Dixie Crossroads is located in Titusville – perfect if you are heading over to Kennedy Space Center or Cocoa Beach.
Dixie Crossroads also offer locally caught seafood harvested by the family’s own fleet and sold fresh in their Wild Ocean Seafood Market. There’s one around the corner in Titusville and one in Port Canaveral.
Even though there are over 460 seats, and there’s very often a wait. The long, shaded bench seats created to cater for lines are testament to how busy and popular this place is.
What to do while you wait? Browse the local art that lines the walls inside. Or head outside and study the giant mural on the wall depicting local businesses and wildlife.
Large handprinted wall mural at Dixie Crossroads
The kids can feed the koi fish in the ponds. Just ask at the lobby for some free fish food.
Feed the fish or explore while you wait
Now for a Little Dixie Crossroads History
First, you need to know what rock shrimp is before it’s cooked and delicious. Rock Shrimp may be part of the shrimp family, but that’s really where the similarity ends. The shell resembles a lobster tail and is rock hard, hence the name rock shrimp.
It’s this tough exterior that made it virtually impossible to harvest. It was known as the trash of the ocean, peanuts or hardheads. Always relegated to being thrown back into the ocean by fishermen when caught up in the regular catch.
Cleaning the sand vein and cracking the hard shell to get to the meat was just too labor intensive for conventional production.
Enter Mr Rodney Thompson
Rodney’s company, the T-Craft Boat Company, was experimenting with fiber glass hulls in the 1960’s. Harboring ambitions to be a King Shrimper, he built the Western Hemisphere’s first ever fiberglass shrimp trawler in 1969. Unfortunately, the 73 foot boat had hefty bank repayments which they were struggling to meet from harvesting brown shrimp alone.
Would You Like to Make A Million Dollars?
That was the question that grabbed Rodney’s attention as he tied up at Port Canaveral, sadly with yet another empty net.
This intriguing statement came from Captain Barrett of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Research Vessel who was coincidentally moored up next to Rodney.
Rodney listened as Captain Barrett advised him of a new position to try casting his nets.
The very next day, Rodney and his crew followed Captain Barrett 20 miles offshore from Melbourne, Florida to a previously uncharted location. He advised them to drop the larger nets to take them deeper into the ocean as the sun went down.
An hour later, they had hauled over 1000 pounds of Rock Shrimp!
Whoo Hoo! Happy Dance on Board!
Captain Barrett then put the ball in Rodney’s court by saying “If you ever figure out how to sell those peanuts, you’ll make millions!”
Rodney continued to farm and ship the shrimp at his own expense but the fish markets across the country showed no interest.
He and his family pondered how to make the shrimp marketable and edible. They experimented and dreamed up new ways to serve it up.
It was daughter Laurilee who had that lightbulb moment when she suggested butterflying the rock shrimp and broiling it like lobster.
To their delight, they discovered how delicious it was.
And so The Rock Shrimp King Was Born
The rest, as they say, is history.
Rodney went on to open Dixie Crossroads on January 1st 1983 as a 30 seat diner. They served up no frills, no sauces, just traditional ‘Old Florida’ Southern cooking.
After 24 successful years at the helm, Rodney and his wife Jean, handed the reins over to the younger generation.
Daughter, Laurilee, still owns the restaurant today.
Sister Sherri developed the Wild Ocean Seafood Market where the family sell premium, locally wild caught seafood. There’s also an eatery within the market and a store selling craft beers, food items and souvenirs.
So the next time you’re anywhere near Titusville in Central Florida, make time for a bit to eat and tase the rock shrimp legend for yourself. You won’t be sorry!
Where: 1475 Garden St, Titusville, FL 32796
Call: 1-321-268-5000
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