The Howling, notes from the Watt

Right breaking chop.  OC Inlet Jetty, 2/5/2015

   Seems like we focus on the weather this time of year. The cold. The rain. This week it was wind chill. The NNW howling winds gusting over 40 mph, dropping wind chills into the teens. Not fun to get the evening's pics in. I was like numb, half jogging, half trudging across the inlet's beach back to the Terrain. Nice 'lil sandblasting. Waves were junky. Maybe thigh high. We've had some surf over the last week or so...double overhead in some cases. But at 39F, not for the faint of heart, or us. A local paper featured an extremer testing his testicles out on one such day last week. Good for him. We took a pass but, we're always willing to test the waters of another unsuspecting local dive.

"We get 'em all: Sun-worshipers, Moon-worshipers, Satanists. The Manson family used to hang around and shoplift. Bunch of deadbeats!"       -Walter Paisley, The Howling

   Our night was to take us to Ocean City's famous Cork Bar. As a first stop, this place lived up to it's rep as server of the town's coldest draft beer. However, it also lived up to the town's off-season languor. As our chilled brews were served, so were our menus...of a local carry-out. Seriously. The kitchen was shut down during the week. Alas- per our barkeep's recommendation, we headed up to the Pit 'N Pub on 28th.

No ratings for you!

   The Pit & Pub. Ocean City's smokehouse. The last time we were here we had their renown Hogs Wings. They are served no more. However, They have come along way in the over two years since our first foray, and have put into play a variety of smoked wings. Their Honey Old Bay was an original we just had to plate.  In addition, we ordered their BBQ Chicken Flatbread; pretty much a pulled BBQ chicken and 3 cheese pizza. The wings were very good. Nice Old Bay coating- not too much salt- and the honey balanced the spice. The flatbread, while I felt was a little dry (HT thought not), still satisfied. Beer was limited. Looks like they keep a nice selection, but a couple of spent taps. Overall the place was typically quiet for this time of year.  A Ravens bar. Not good. An Orioles bar. Very good.  May require a return engagement during baseball (and consequently surf) season. Time to roll on...

THE RATINGS-

Honey Old Bay Wings: B+

BBQ Chicken Flatbread: B-

Beer: C

Atmosphere: C+

Overall Score = 2.56

Get The Sensation, notes from the Target.

Desolate surf. Open weekends only. Fenwick Island, DE. 1/22/2015

   It's Winter. Who likes winter? I guess there are some who like the cold. Here we've been getting the cold and the wet. Like living in Seattle for F's sake. Mid thirties, no snow, plenty of rain...like sideways rain. If not then heavy dampness. The kind of dampness that creeps into your bones. Now one might interject that we are central east coast.  The Crew should "get the sensation." Be appreciative. Our location, in relation to the South, in correlation to the Ocean, keeps us relatively snow free. Most of the time. While the big three of Baltimore, D.C., and Philly are getting dumped on, while the Northeast is getting pummeled, we absorb the damp. So yeah, we get the sensation. We just don't always enjoy it. Looking outdoors we wonder, "yes I could go out in this, but do I want to leave the warmth inside?" For us, it's about more than going out into the cold.
   As I sailed down coastal highway with no traffic at all I noticed that even the large condos had at most one or two cars in the parking lots. The Barrier Island becomes a ghost town of sorts this time of year. Some resort work during the day, void of most at night.  Those out seek a haven. Friendship, a cold brew, warm food. The classic hometown dive where you're made to feel like family the moment you walk in. Towards the end of January, the Journey brought us across just such a haven. Matteos Salsa Loco in Fenwick Island. A family run Mexican themed joint, in a strip mall so small if you blinked you'd have missed it. Upon walking in we no sooner had our Dos Equis in hand than we were drawn into a combination poker/trivia night. Competing against nine other teams we raced off to a fiery start immediately winning the first round.  Our barkeep brought in their Sampler Meal which included Fiesta Wings, and as it was also taco night we ordered a couple Rockfish Tacos on the side. Nothing seemed to be made of scratch, but the service was friendly.  Our barkeep even brought us shots of the house drink "Sanguila," a Sangria-Tequila mix. Now DWatt may have his faults, but turning down a free shot ain't one of 'em. The Sampler was very bar food-ish as the wings were quite bland.  The fish tacos better but a little fishy, leaning on the formerly frozen side. As to the trivia game, our performance...flash in the pan-ish. Fun night that took out the damp. All in all worth a return trip if not for the food, definitely for the atmosphere. Summer might make a good time for a spot check. Another chance to get the sensation.

THE RATINGS-

Sampler/Fiesta Wings: C-

Rockfish Tacos: C+

Beer: C+

Atmoshpere: B+

Overall Score = 2.38