Autumn Stoke, notes from the Target

Small door, big stoke.  9/27

   Man! What an awesome Fall!  Beautiful weather, empty beach, and rideable surf cannot be understated.  High tide, warm (70F) water.  Waves continue to be small, but rollin' in sets. Every two minutes, a ride.  Wattman caught more in this session than he did the entire month of August.  Even in the fast fade of Autumn light- a quick backside, then a frontside right noted for the record.  Complete stoke made the walk from the beach upbeat...a feeling soon to be justified.

   Tonight we headed to the Frog Bar (formerly the Red Eyed Frog) facing the inlet.  Do not let it's small nomenclature fool you.  The bar seats 12 and has 12 tables.  But it's BIG!  Big view...panoramic inlet, at twilight unbelievable!  A light show from a barge dredging the inlet all night long. Sirius/XM on Bose Reflectives booming classic hard rock.  You can never understate( there's that word again) the importance of quality speakers in a bar...especially a small bar.  Six flat screens over the windows.  Damn good start.  However, we are here for one primary purpose... wings & beer. Frog Happy Hour, aka "Froggy Hour" runs from 8pm-9pm.  $1 drafts.  8oz. mind you, but still, that's 16oz. for two bucks! A bargain anywhere!  The wings...6 to a set, we got Olde Bay, BBQ and 50/50 (a hot buffalo/blue cheese mix).   When the Wangs are right, the rest don't matter.  All three hot and meaty, and a crispy skin so few places get right.  Three styles, cooked to perfection and with perfect seasoning, it was hard to pick a favorite.  But, the 50/50's were the surprising treat.  You never want to disclose the year's winner too early, but The Frog Bar is certainly a front-runner.  Onward Crusaders!

THE RATINGS-
50/50 Wings: A-
BBQ/OldeBay: B+
TV/Music: A-
Atmosphere: B+
OVERALL SCORE: 3.43

Local Barfly

Cool Nights 'n Empty Beaches, notes from the Target

Frontside Slider, 9/20

Tail chec...uh, surf check.

 









                     Ahhhhhhhh, the fun filled days of fall. Cool nights and empty beaches (no bikini's, but plenty of tail...feathers; i.e. gulls) lend themselves as a reminder that we have reclaimed the Ocean backs to ourselves.  OCMD's second season is in full swing and the Wattman planned to take full advantage of the open consecutive sets rolling in.  You'd the think it was a dream line-up, but the swell more like a mixed bag of hamburger Sliders... lots of bun but only small patties of meat.  DWatt fought most of the evening to find the allusive long ride among the constant set of small close-outs.  But the stoke was found, even if it was one outta every five and that was enough to smile about.  Heading in we wondered as to how many more decent weeks of surf we have left.   Six available.  We know that.

Closing door, time to leave.

 












   This evening we finally made it to the historic Duck Bar.  Anyone who has ever been to Ocean City has heard of the famous MR Ducks. One of the first bayside waterfront bars, it has a reputation bigger than the bar itself. Walking in at the end of happy hour, the place had a good crowd with a live country duo on the small deck/stage. While well played live music is always appreciated by some (DWatt), I have to admit core rock is more my style. But we came in for one reason. Good hot wings and cold beer. This is a gazebo over the water, so there are no taps here. Cans only. While selection was obviously not a priority, at $2 each and very cold they were dealmakers.
   The wing selection, now that grabbed our attention.  We snatched up an order each of Mango Habanero and Ducks BBQ.  Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, fire and sweet.  Without regard to the impending burn we dove into the Habaneros.  I say without regard to the impending burn...a burn that never occured.  Can you say mango (or maybe orange) marmalade? 'Cause that's what it seemed we got.  And no heat.  None.  Even the BBQ was only average.  Gotta say, a bit of disappointment to an otherwise pleasant autumn night.  So we took the Crusade into the reputed historic, and what we found?  Nice view.  Nice crowd...albeit a tinge older than us...and that's sayin' somethin.'  And the thought- where to next?

THE RATINGS-
Mango Habanero Wings: C-
Ducks BBQ Wings: C
Beer: C+
TV/Music: B-
Atmosphere: B
Total Score...2.38

Bike Week...Like Ants, notes from the Target

Kinda bumpy thigh to waist rides, 9/13

     Bike Week in ye 'ol O.C.  What does a Harley have to do with the surf? Absolutely nothing.  We got an empty beach with the roar of a Hog in the background.  We also got us the first Fall surf of the year.  Waist high with some bump, but with a low tide it wasn't beach break, a plus.  The water's still in the low 70's.  Air in the mid-70's.  Nice night.  DWatt manged to juice several lefts and rights before the ever more antecedent sunset made judgement difficult...must be an age thing.

Gettin' late...lil' behind the lines.

 












   Did we mention it was Bike Week?  They were like ants, throngs of bikes pouring out everywhere.  Don't get yourselves askew.  Nothing wrong with Bikers... some are cowboys, most of 'em are old timers, or yuppies riding the latest trend.  Regardless, our planned destination was a bust...loaded with ant...uh Bikers- and Biker wanna Be's. No place to sit and standing room only was limited.  We moved on.  But, even our 2nd choice was infested.  Weak from a lack of Beer and a need of Wings we limped into previously aforementioned and visited Grottos on 125th.  We knew what to expect from nine weeks earlier.  Slightly slow service, small crowd, cold beer, plenty of TVs and average wings.  Our last thoughts held true.  Turn it up a notch or two and this place would rate as a favorite spot in the lineup to catch a game.  As for now, a bit stiffer rating as no improvement was seen.

"Savoir-Faire is everywhere!"

THE RATINGS(2nd Time Around)-

Hot Wings: C

Honey BBQ: C

Beer: C+

TV/Music: B

Atmosphere: C+

OVERALL SCORE...2.25

The 2nd Season Convenes, notes from the Target

 

   The second season has officially begun, and with it the hopes of monster surf brought on by an active Atlantic Hurricane climate.  Tropical Storm Leslie has brought high levels of rain in the past several days, but no high winds or storm damage.  For that we are grateful.  And the for the first time in weeks we have waist or better swell.  Some right hand chest highs filled the bill Thursday evening and the Wattman wasn't alone in the lineup as a handful of salty watermen were on on the lookout for any available ride. With the sun setting by 7:30pm, the sense of urgency could be seen in everyone.  DWatt jumped wave after wave seeking the rush before nightfall. Finding stoke is not always immediate, that is why it must be chased.

Jumpin' the shoulder, 9/6

 












   As night fell we headed north, back to Delaware to the High Stakes Bar and Grill.  It's been about a year since our last visit and we held high hopes. Locating a table or seat with a good view for sports on the tube is not a problem here. To add to our excitement were the reasonable prices for ice cold beer... immediate happiness.  Life was good.  As we watched the O's-Yankees game our wings arrived.  More happiness.  Life got better.  We must be running some kinda streak (the wing Gods have been smiling upon us for real!). I thought the BBQ and Hot Buffalo were near great, and Wattman was only slightly behind me in his ratings of them.  as we rated the experience a thought seemed to emerge before us.  Have we found the new Smitty's?  Only time will tell.  With the year end fast approaching, the crusade must move on.

THE RATINGS-

Hot Wings: A-

BBQ Wings: A-

TV/Music: B

Beer: B

Atmosphere: B+

Overall Score:  3.38

Close To Shore, notes from the Target

"The fish moved with grace and beauty remarkable for its size, in a cloak of invisibility fashioned from infinite silvery refractions of light. It stayed near shore, near familiar and abundant prey. It would range out in waters as deep as sixty to eighty feet and swim into waters four feet deep-or shallower, if it was chasing something. It was equipped to follow prey wherever it fled, almost all the way up to shore."
-M. Capuzzo, Close To Shore

Racing in close to shore, 8/30

  

   It's the last week of the official summer season.  The labor Day weekend is upon us.  Most of the tourists have gone home during the week and we can once again reclaim our beach.  But the surf continues it's cycle of high tides, and small beachbreak.  This week provided some tempting knee to thigh crumbs for the quick and stoke starved with the threat of a twisted limb or worse, a busted board.  Literally a crash landing on packed sand. There's a reason why no one is surfing, and DWatt seems to ignore it.  He continues to launch himself into the sea, searching... searching  for that one magical wave to satisfy the evening's stoke.  As if driven by a hidden menace, he pinched several nanosecond rights and even a backside flash or two before bailing as his stick sailed onto the beach like an errant skimboard. Gotta question his acumen at times. Not sure if he's got very clear shore perception.  But the attempts were made without injury.  Stoke was found no matter how scant.  The crusade can continue for yet another week.

On the prowl, 8/30

  

   We had company this week.  A visitor from Middle America, the land of Bears. So with DWatt's Chi-Town Girl, Lisa joining us this week, we left behind the friendly neighborhood dives and headed to the more upscale Sunset Grille.  All summer long I have heard  the radio sing out the praises of the new addition to the original West O.C. bar and I needed to see it for myself.  Sunset Grille is impressive with it's multiple dining and bar areas. We hit the newest.  "The Bridge" as in the bridge of a yacht.  Truly upscale with it's couches, glass top tables and fireplaces that frame the bar complete with a big screen TV as the center of attention.  But, it's the view of the marina and Ocean City's downtown and inlet across the bay that makes the place at night.

   Maybe it was the end of season, new servers, whatever, but  service was slooow.  And with the fair size crowd on board it seemed even slower. Beer selection was slim.  More of a fancy blended drink place.  The first round was down befor the wings arrived.  Speaking of wings, only three types... Buffalo, Asian Sesame, and BBQ.  While they were certainly large and tasty, they were not inspiring...especially not the BBQ.  Definitely would not classify this place as specializing in wings. But we were satisfied with our meal.  Upon reflection, we will return... need to check out their sports bar "Teasers." And they've gotta have among the best views in the resort.  But with upscale be prepared to bring the bank 'cause these are full-on O.C. beach prices!

THE RATINGS-

Spicy Buffalo: C+

Sweet Asian Sesame: B

TV/Music: C

Beer: C

Atmosphere: B+

Total Score= 2.70