OC EATS

Johnnycakes and I just got back from being "down the ocean" as every good Baltimoron would say. We had a great time at the ocean! I feel like I gained five lbs. in the three short days we were gone. I will do my best to highlight some of our start of summer treats.

I had been hanging on to a gift card to Buddy's Crabs and Ribs at the City Dock in Annapolis, MD since Christmas. Since Annapolis is on the way to OC we finally decided to use the gift card since it seems impossible for us to get down there any other time. As a rule, I generally don't do buffets or "AYCE" all-you-can-eats because I always seem to push it a little too hard and I usually feel like you are sacrificing quantity for quality. I had this notion when I got to Buddy's but one look at the snow crab legs and steamed shrimp on the buffet and I was sold. I ate about three plates of crab legs, shrimp, and supplemented with crab balls and coconut shrimp. They also had some super creamy mashed potatoes. Johnnycakes was a bit more sensible and ordered a chicken sandwich that was a lot like a chicken cheesesteak. It was huge! He only ate about half and we took the rest home. We also "cheated" and he enjoyed some crab legs, seafood gumbo and shrimp with me from the buffet. Does anyone else do that?

Saturday started sensibly with blueberry pancakes and real (!) pork bacon prepared by my sister. I had forgotten what a happy homemaker my sister is and she was anxious to cook us breakfast our first morning. She also whipped up a bountiful fruit salad for a snack and ham and cheese sandwiches for us to enjoy on the beach. Johhnycakes and I made a beeline to Seacrets around 3 p.m. to enjoy some adult beverages while floating in the bay on the rafts. I have been waiting since last summer to get a Seacret Sunset which is made with guava juice and rum. It was worth the wait because it was delicious and not too strong. We also had a couple of the Pain in De Ass, which is their signature drink. A thunderstorm on the horizon got us out of their with most of our wits in tact. We ended Saturday with a bang by "hitting the boards". We piled in the minivan with the kids and headed to the Boardwalk and munched down a large Trashers french fry. I think most people that have tried them will attest that Trashers French Fries are some of the best out there. They are fresh cut and fried in peanut oil. They also don't serve any ketchup so you better like plenty of apple cider vinegar and salt. We also scarfed two large pizzas at Peisanos (formerly Ponzettis) and finished the evening with ice cream cones at the legendary Dumsers Dairyland.

Johnnycakes and I thought it would be a good idea to repay my sister and her husband for all the breakfasts and lunches they had been preparing for us by making them a standout steak dinner on my grandparents old grill. We headed to the little grocery store and picked out four filet Mignon, 4 enormous baking potatoes, fresh broccoli, corn on the cob, fresh veggies for a huge salad and some chicken breast for the kids. We marinated the huge steaks and chicken breast in Italian salad dressing and grilled them to near perfection. That's pretty good on our makeshift grill! The night was beautiful so we enjoyed our family dinner outside on the picnic table. We got to enjoy our Memorial Day cookout "down the ocean, hon"! We even went to Candy Kitchen for ice cream after a fun game of mini golf.

Today we made homemade french toasts and "dippy" eggs for breakfast. Johnnycakes and I were worn out from two days at the beach so we headed to the pool while my sister's family went to the beach. We packed some homemade chicken sandwiches on white bread and enjoyed them at the pool. After plenty of fun and the sun, we all piled in the mini and headed into Delaware for the legendary Grottos Pizza! It was worth it. There is just something about their pizza that keeps me coming back. I wasn't ready for the fun to end so I made Johnnycakes stop about half way home to Baltimore at Ritas for a chocolate Italian ice. Another feature of driving to OC is all the produce stands along Route 50. I hate to be unprepared for the week and not have any fruit in the house for breakfast or to pack in lunches. We stopped at Wrights Market and picked up some fresh local strawberries and asparagus. I have a hunch that the peaches aren't local because they aren't really in season yet but we snatched up some of those too. They had lots of other treats too, such as jams, peanuts, dried fruit, etc. but we were in a hurry to get home.

We are headed down again next month so we'll be sure to repeat most of these stops plus a few more. I haven't forgotten about the margaritas or guacamole at Tequila Mockingbird! We'll have to save that for next time.