Sparse Crowd, the Target's notes.

Eye on avoiding landfall. Holidays backside, 7/11/2018.

   When you live near the beach you become very accessible. Watt and Wife are into their second summer near the water, but both seem to relish their visitation opportunities. This week they were especially enjoying it...straight out of Oswego (IL), the good side of the family came to visit. LWatt's sister and nieces were here all week. However, before I could meet them they had to make it to the beach. It seems the near perfect LWatt had mistakenly left her keys in the car for the entire week resulting in a battery that was down for the count. But exhibiting skills few thought he possessed, boosted by a little surf adrenaline, Wattman had the battery jumped in a jiff and they arrived only a few minutes late. Six heading to the beach looked to be more of a caravan than quick jaunt. Still, we  managed to settle in quickly on a relatively sparsely crowded shore as Watt headed out into the surf. Not real big, the swell was maybe two feet or so. With the tide coming in, it was obvious that the conditions were weakening. And breaking close to shore. For Wattman, with this crowd watching, the pressure was on. Surprisingly, he delivered, picking off several decent rides. A couple of the early falls did bring laughter from the beach-side peanut gallery, though he mounted a comeback. Carving into a handful of workable rights, and a backside quickie proved enough to mildly impress the beach crowd. Scratching into a mini cruiser, he did a last call and we closed up shop for the evening.

   With this size group we needed somewhere new and affordable. Wattman's first choice had been the Phillips North experiment in Mexican style shore-food; the Bayside Cantina at 130th street. Upon arrival I had immediately sensed trouble in the research lab. Only 8:30pm, and there were only three cars in the lot. It's now mid-July in O City. Prime time for all bars and restaurants, but here the crowd was so sparse there weren't enough people in the place to pay the light bill. After a short debate, Watt already had a second choice in mind. Another new Mexican joint...Loca Madre. Part of the Crab Cake Factory chain, we had high hopes as we entered.

Once again we encountered a very sparse crowd. After a bit of a Mexican dance between tables, we ended up at a tall table against the wall. Watt and I ordered a couple of beers which were served in plastic cups...and we weren't even outside. With this being a Mexican themed locale, I was expecting a free bowl of chips and salsa to munch on as we decided on our meal, but it didn't happen. After some indecision, we ordered the Chicken Fajitas, Spicy Texas BBQ Wings, and a couple of Spicy Beef Tacos.

The fajitas, while served very hot, were lacking flavor and we had to ask for cheese. The wings were over spiced, over sauced, the meat was dry (which was plausibly why they were over sauced),and breaded. Once again we have encountered the dreaded breaded wing. Have we not suffered enough? Can not the simple wing be left as it was meant to be...naked? A wing is so simple yet so many do such terrible things to it. The tacos were just average.

I have nothing to say really. I ate it and it was gone. Thus the Patrol ended with few highlights in the foodie division. The interior was nice. Plenty of big flat-screens. Music. But we had to ask, will this place be open in a year? Are Mexican restaurants past their prime, with no place in a resort's prime time? The only answer we had was we would not be back anytime soon.

THE RATINGS-

Chicken Fajitas: C+

Texas BBQ Wings: C-

Spicy Beef Tacos: C-

Beer: C

Atmosphere: B-

Value: C+
Overall Score = 2.13

Ramblin' On, notes from the Target.

"The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears
for me when I'm on a wave."   -Paul Walker
Disappearing Beryl leaving some thighs to chew on. Rodeways and 30th, 7/5/2018.

   As with all gambles you have to play to win. I had arrived a few minutes late and Watt made sure I was aware of the situation. Personally speaking, I had gambled that Wattman would be late as usual and was surprised at his timely arrival. To add to the mounting drama, Wattman doubled down and returned to 30th & Rodeways (now an Econo Lodge) for a second straight week. But as any ramblin'  man knows, Mother Ocean does not play fair. Compared to the previous week of great chest high surf, what we faced was just an ordinary, run of the mill, mixed bag of blah, blahs. Disappointing as we had Beryl, only the second tropical depression of the 2018 Hurricane developing in the central Atlantic. Settling in to enjoy the night, it was discovered that LWatt had brought a thermal cup of brew this week. I believed it to be a sample of the cold Grapefruit Hef we had several weeks ago. As we passed the drink LWatt spilled some on her shirt and was forced to retreat to the pool area to get cleaned up. I was left to guard the scarred cup and did my best to ensure no one else would suffer the same fate. While this was going on Watt was trying to catch any wave. Now recently, Wattman had expressed his displeasure over some of the previous weeks pictures. Seems he didn't like the close ups. Wanted wider angle views. Show the actual conditions. With this in mind I re-adjusted and tried taking some shots as I stole additional sips from the cold beverage. Considering the lack of surfable waves of any substance, Watt was able to pull off a few thigh-high rides here and there. Lefties, one or two, and several nice rights with long rambles to the beach were found before nightfall sent us on our way. 

   Once again we headed West across the Rt. 50 Bridge. Located at the Ocean City Fishing Center, Micky Fins in West OC; the view across the bay was one of the major selling points. We grab-bagged seats at the outside bar and took in the surroundings. Live music filled the speakers and a nice breeze kept us cool. The bar was small and packed, and with only two bartenders we waited to be served. Our barkeep was a professional and she knew what sold well, so we quickly ordered beverages while reviewing the menu. We decide on the recommended Lobster and Mahi Tacos with Bacon Wrapped Scallops as our third choice.

There was no doubt this place was about turn over and touristas. Our beverages while cold, were served in plastic cups. We are outside, but only sorta-kinda. Enclosed, for the most part. So, in short, no real bar uses plastic. The food was the next disappointment. The barkeep had raved about the tacos, yet we found both to be lacking. There was very little Mahi and the tempura lobster was just bland. The scallops were nicely cooked and the BBQ sauce had a nice zing. It was the hit of the night. We looked to this place as the type of spot to take your out of town friends. The view alone may be worth the visit. Fins was not much above an average meal, however decent prices made for trade off considerations. The Patrol may just return again in the future.

THE RATINGS-

Lobster Taco: C+

Mahi Mahi Tacos: C

Bacon Wrapped Scallops: B

Beer: B-

Atmosphere: A-

Value: B

Overall Score = 2.79

    

Brew with a view.