First One, tales from the Watt.

"Wiping out is an underappreciated skill."  -Laird Hamilton
Honing the skills, facing the break...quick release into the wash. Castles, 6/6/2019.

   Been a slow start. I'll be the first one to admit it. Target would be the first one to remind me. LWatt would be the first one to put up with it (i.e. my 'tude). The evening brought the first decent conditions we've had for the '19 season. All would agree with that. Not necessarily the first rides, but the evening produced the first decent waves to charge since we hit the water last month. Atlantic temps had hit the 70F mark early on in the week, but by Thursday were back down to 68...my feet felt it. Swell was about waist...maybe, and semi-clean. Some disorganized bump here and there. I did not do well in the execution category. More time in the water needed. That's okay. For every spin, there was the the desire for the next, regardless of the pending thumping. A nice session though. The first one in a while. And I anticipate, the first one of many this season.

Smoothed out late in the evening. Castles, 6/6/2019.

   The post sesh foodie search led us to John Fager's second opening of Bad Monkey; West Ocean City, off Route 50 eastbound. Riding up on it, the place was almost an identical twin to the in-town location. It has been our experience that new openings experience first year jitters, but Bad Monkey West seemed to have come out of labor without much pain.

Food service was a little slow, but the food and drink offerings were on point. Case in point, the Blackened Mahi Tacos. Plenty of slaw, nice avocado ranch sauce. Only the rock hard, less than ripe avocado garnish scarred the dish.We also had the Spinach Salad...or rather LWatt did.

Though it had to be changed out for onions that were requested to be forgotten (quick turnaround in this case), with hard boiled egg, bacon, gourmet tomatoes, and organic chicken, the disappearing bowl spoke for itself. Finally we finished up with the BBQ Wings. Big, meaty, hot, and not too much sauce.Turns out they were lightly breaded. Not our recipe of choice, but it did little to hinder a pretty decent wing. Nice views tableside, though I chose the bar. This did not go unnoticed by LWatt and Target as they pointed the fact out several times during the course of our meal. Beer was cold, glasses chilled, with a good draft and bottle/can selection. TVs were well placed, piped music was our style, and our barkeep was plenty attentive. Tab was a little elevated, however it turned out there was a backside unchecked deck as well, thus the Westside Monkey would definitely be worth another look. 'Til then, the dives await...this season's Journey continues.

THE RATINGS-
Atmosphere: B+
Beer: B+
Blackened Mahi Tacos: B
BBQ Wings: B
Spinach Salad: B
Value: C+
Overall Score = 2.96