116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Juicy Crab Island brings seafood, soul food to First Avenue in Cedar Rapids
Unique culinary intersection delivers locally-owned seafood option
Nov. 28, 2024 6:00 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — People are breaking legs at one of Cedar Rapid’s newest seafood joints without stepping foot on a stage.
Crab legs, that is.
Juicy Crab Island, opened in February at a former lounge along First Avenue, is serving up seafood as one of a select number of locally-owned Corridor restaurants in that category.
The restaurant, owned by Jacinta Ingram, offers a curated and unique intersection of seafood and soul food.
If you go
What: Juicy Crab Island
Address: 1323 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids
Phone: (319) 362-3746
Website: Find Juicy Crab Island on Facebook
Hours: 1 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; closed Monday
Details: Distinct seafood and soul food options alongside a full bar. Seafood baskets start at $13. Available for dine in, carryout or delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats.
With two decades of experience in food service, Juicy Crab Island is Ingram’s first restaurant opening.
The Chicago native, who had been cooking from home all those years, decided to bring her favorite food to Cedar Rapids.
“When I came here 14 years ago, I’d always go back home, because they had no seafood here, apart from Red Lobster,” she said. “I said, ‘They need seafood here.’ ”
Her curated menu, mostly on one page, makes it easy to figure out what you’re in the mood for. Seafood baskets with fries range from an affordable $13 for shrimp to a relatively accessible $24 for a lobster tail.
Snow crab, shrimp, and king crab are available in large combo bowls cooked Cajun style, with corn on the cob and potatoes. Or, build your own plate by the pound with snow crab legs, king crab legs, shrimp, crawfish or mussels in a choice of seasonings, such as jerk, Cajun, lemon pepper and garlic.
In addition to the standard seafood fare, catfish can be fried up as an entree or an appetizer served in nugget form — an entry into the soul food portion of the menu.
“It was stuff I was used to having back home, and they didn’t have it here, so I said I’ll bring it here,” Ingram noted. “That’s basically how I came up with the menu — just the food I’m used to eating. Our soul food is comfort food.”
Soul food can be ordered as a full plate special or on the side. Pot roast, lamb chops, fried chicken, fried wings and catfish filet anchor rich sides packed with flavor, including macaroni and cheese, yams, cornbread and collard greens.
Pasta Alfredo makes a brief appearance on the menu with a choice of shrimp, lobster, salmon, chicken or lamb chop.
Ingram, 40, has been cooking since she was 10. She credits her mother for the influence seen in her soul food — especially the collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and fried chicken.
“I love to make other people happy with my food. I express my love through my food,” she said. “When they eat my food, I want them to indulge in it and feel comfort.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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