Jan-Michael T.
Yelp
If there is any restaurant in Titusville that is recognized as "iconic," it is definitely Dixie Crossroads. Being in business for over four decades, Dixie Crossroads (which I will shorthand to "DC" for the remainder of the review), started when Titusville was hardly established for anything touristy, and was more a city hub for the employees of NASA.
With so much time underneath them, DC would have the experience and know-how of the land to be one of the top restaurants in Brevard County. Though iconic, they are now competing against a new breed of seafood restaurant, and though not the cream of the crop as they used to be, they still hold their own.
I have been to DC about four times from what I remember. Two for birthdays, one with my friend Roadie X, and one for a letterboxing event. And though all is generally good, the food and service have been hodgepodge from excellent to good yet average.
Starting from entering, I still am annoyed that you have to make a U-turn to enter into the establishment if you are heading west on SR-486. And when you exit, you'll need to go East and make a U-turn or exit into Old Dixie Highway to head to the SR-486/Old Dixie Highway intersection stoplight.
There is ample parking, but it is more "play by ear, play by sight" on where you park for the majority of the parking lot is just a huge space of asphalt, but any parking lines have since faded into memory. Patrons make due, but I just wanted to bring that up for any newbies to the restaurant.
DC is adorably tacky and definitely plays off the seafood and mariner themes. There is a lot of space for a lot of patrons, and during nighttime hours, it is usually packed. They even have a backroom area for large parties. I have only been in there once for the letterboxing event.
There are usually a unique array of house appetizers to get patrons started, but they are known for their powdered sugar hush puppy bites. They are very delicious and you can easily have a meal on them alone if you are not careful.
Over the course of my visits, I had their gator, crab cakes, salads, clam chowder, and other fixins. I compare the food between times with the crab cake as I have eaten it every time I was there. Usually decent, once beyond excellent, and once with shell pieces in it. Ergo, it's not exactly consistent. For the time with shell pieces, I will say it wasn't anything too bad.
Where DC is consistent on, however, is not their seafood, but their own range of custom alcoholic beverages. Every one I had has been a knockout, especially the orange creamsicle alcoholic smoothie. Depending on which one you get, you'll go home with a souvenir glass, too. I have two. And the little ones can enjoy their N/A line if they want to get in on the fun.
Overall, it is a good place for tradition. Are there better seafood places out and about? Sure. However, I suggest DC for two things. 1.) The prices are still very good for what you get. And 2.) tradition. Outside of that, I would go here for special occasions and such, but not as a "must-go" for seafood.
P.S. For the scavenger hunters out there, this is one of the locations in that massive 10-location Adventure Lab. There are a couple of waymarks here and one geocache in the parking lot.t