Category: Food News

Food News revolves around the happenings within the national Hospitality Industry and how it relates to the local restaurant scene. Here in the Commonwealth, the dining scene is vibrant and is influenced by—and sometimes influences—the national spotlight.

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Juicy Seafood brings Cajun Seafood Boils to Worcester

Juicy Seafood opened a few months back and the Worcester Foodies’ have been planning their visit ever since we saw the announcement that a Cajun Seafood boil were now available in Worcester

Stepping inside the restaurant, the seafood theme is more than evident. The dining room has mounted fish, ropes, fishing nets and more. A big, bright bar is at the back of the room and rumor has it, they make a great Mai Tai for those that would like to indulge!

Obviously New England has plenty of seafood restaurants. And if you are looking for another cup of New England Clam Chowder or a pint of Fried Clams, you won’t find it here. But what you will find at Juicy Seafood is a Cajun seafood boil with Shrimp, Crawfish, Lobster, Crabs, King Crab Legs, Clams or Mussels, served hot and fresh with corn and potato.

Now lets talk spices! At Juicy you not only choose your spices – Cajun, Garlic Butter, Lemon Pepper, or the Juicy Special (which is all the spices combined) – you also choose the heat level of spice from No Spice right through Extra Hot! And from the reaction I saw, the Extra Hot is appropriately named! Our fantastic waitress made the recommendation to choose the Juicy Special spices which she said “is the best of all worlds”

I toured the kitchen to see exactly how the dishes were made and was amazed. Each order is cooked individually in massive woks over high heat sealing in the tenderness. Then the seafood is placed into large clear plastic bags, the spices are added and the bag is sealed. When delivered to the table you tear open the bag to a rush of spice, heat and flavor!

Get Your Hands Dirty

One of the themes at Juicy is “Get Your Hands Dirty” and believe me when your seafood boil is delivered to the table, you will. This is “eat with your hands food” – the tables are covered in brown butcher paper, you can wear the plastic bib to protect your clothes and there will be plenty of napkins and wet naps to help you clean up.

Looking up and down our table, our Foodies looked more than satisfied as they indulged in their seafood boils.

For those who don’t want the Cajun Seafood boil the menu does include some fried seafood platters and even chicken tenders, along with a list of appetizers like Hushpuppies, Calamari, Oysters and Chicken Wings. But really, try the boil, you definitely won’t be disappointed! And did we mention, as of this writing – all draft beer is $2.99! Ice cold beer, spicy Cajun Seafood boil in a casual atmosphere where you can use your hands to eat…wow!

Overall the Worcester Foodies enjoyed their meal with most finding the food incredibly flavorful, tender and JUICY and everyone spoke of a return visit.

Juicy Seafood is located at 1269 Main Street in Worcester. There is plenty of off-street parking and is open for lunch and dinner everyday. For those venturing to the western part of Massachusetts, Juicy Seafood has a second MA location at 1404 Boston Rd, Springfield, MA

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Where to Find Fiddleheads and Ramps on the Menu

There are a few things I am forbidden from telling you about my afternoon of foraging with Julia Auger and Jared Forman.

I can tell you that traveling to their secret spot takes two hours roundtrip. I can tell you that Forman sometimes refers to it as “Ramptopia.” I can tell you that I was asked to turn my geotags off. I can tell you that they did not go so far as to blindfold me. But, I cannot tell you where they brought me or how we got there.

As proprietors of deadhorse hill and simjang in Worcester, Auger and Forman practice a modern philosophy of hospitality. This means taking excessive measures to guarantee an optimal guest experience—even if that requires braving the untamed forest in search of wild bounty.

Chefs favor ramps and fiddleheads as the first sign of spring. Ramp season is short, lasting about a month as soon as the weather grows seasonable. Fiddleheads are equally elusive, calling for wet and swampy conditions.

You don’t need to go off the grid to sample these rare treasures of New England. A variety of farm stands west of the Quabbin reservoir have ramps available for purchase and many of your neighborhood chefs have done the hard work for you.

Lock 50
Executive Chef Tim Russo is pickling fiddleheads at Lock 50 to extend their availability over the next two months. He also charred and packed his ramp haul in oil to make chimichurri and salsa verde set to appear in feature dishes all season long.

City Bar and Grille
Chef/Owner Al Soto has fiddleheads and ramps on the menu at his new westside hot spot, City Bar and Grille. Expect a dose of grilled ramp aioli with your first course at CBG’s Mad River cocktail dinner on May 15th.

BirchTree Bread Co.
This week, BirchTree Bread’s specialty toast features roasted fiddleheads along with a fried duck egg and asiago cream sauce served on seeded levain. Keep an eye out for fiddleheads on future Wednesday and Friday pizza nights.

deadhorse hill
If you aren’t lucky enough to enjoy your ramp-stuffed trout over an outdoor grill after hours of manual labor in the pouring rain, enjoy your ramps the civilized way—in the dining room. Forman has a kurobuta pork chop on the menu right now dressed with wild ramps, fiddleheads, and mushrooms.

Armsby Abbey
Armsby Abbey no longer uses foraged ingredients, but you can still find ramps and fiddleheads on the menu for special occasions. Executive Chef Sean Dacey was serving up pickled ramps in his fried vegetables along with a horseradish cream puree, aged sheep’s milk cheese, and a fried egg. The ramps used were a one time purchase from a farm and once gone they are gone (hint: they’re gone). He has also devised a tasty carrot-ramp vinaigrette to properly dress the spring salad for Mother’s Day brunch. Like the ramps, you’ll only be able to get the fiddleheads through Mother’s Day before they are off of the menu!