In The Air, the Watt's notebook.

Morning wood at sunrise. Bare farmlands, Berlin, MD. 11/17/2020.

    Next week is Thanksgiving. Then the Christmas season begins. Then New Years. Our night temperatures have fallen into the 40s, days have cooled off, the culmination leading to the Atlantic temps having slipped into the 50's. You can smell the cooler salt..it's in the air. Has left no doubt for the need of a full suit, boots, gloves even. With work, weekends are now the only option. Speaking of work, for those of us who live and work (or in the T-Man's case, carouse) on the 'Shore, October's harvest had left the once dense fields of corn and soybean stripped bare one by one. Another sign. Cruising Route 50, we are left keeping a side-eye out for the local Whitetail that now occupy the barren farmland as feeding grounds and take-off points for "the rut." It's in the air...the mood to headbutt your car whilst high on a testosterone high, chasing the doe of their children. And our weekly dining? Indoors have become the necessity. Yeah, it's in the air. Season's passing. I don't think any of us Crew members would argue even the slightest satisfaction to see 2020 make an exit. A strenuous season to be sure. Yet, we're still doin' what we do. We have stuck it out...together. The Crew.

   New locations in need of our good judgement have been hard to find this year. We've been to the Globe. Now the Globe Gastro Theatre, bought out by the owners of Burley Oak, it now features Broad Street BBQ at The Globe. The interior was gutted to have an industrial warehouse look. They took the walls down to the brick. A huge lighted stage took up the center floor. Open Wednesday through Sunday, there's live music every night. This past Thursday, we finally got our first live music fix of the year... classic rock covers by Jack Bannon. Did a nice job. Enjoyed while havin' a couple of craft beers, a Miller Lite, and some decent BBQ. The spread we ordered included a house made Kielbasa with Cornbread and Alabama Sauce, a pound of Smoked BBQ Chicken Wings, and Creekstone Angus Brisket both served with additional BBQ sauce. The aromas were mouthwatering, but we are a hard Crew to completely satisfy.

The 'Basa was a little better than average, but smaller and lacked the zesty flavour and the snap in the bite. The cornbread was the biggest disappointment for LWatt- very dry. The wings had a good smoke and the sauce was tasty, but the meat was very tough, a tad overcooked. The brisket was the best of the three. Hot, juicy, and well prepared, but the portion could have been more generous. Our beers were served in chilled (refrigerated) glasses, and they had a good selection...not just Burley, but some guest taps as well. This is definitely a live entertainment venue. No TVs, and because of the pandemic, no waitstaff. We sat at a table, and walked over to the bar as we ordered directly from the bartender, who to his credit, was attentive.

Jack Bannon

In addition, the manger made his rounds of the tables collecting the dishes and glasses, so kudos to him as well. Our bill was not overly painful at all, and our bartender included a free beer. Hard to complain about that. We hung out for a bit, enjoying the music, and finally called it a night. Jointly agreed to, we determined due to Thanksgiving festivities with our respective families, a two week sabbatical would be in order. Upon leaving we noted Main Street Berlin was starting to get lit up...even the tree at the Atlantic Hotel was up, though dark. It's in the air. Until December then...

The Globe Gastro Theatre, 11/19/2020.

THE RATINGS-

Beer: B

Atmosphere: A-

House Kielbasa: C+

Cornbread: C-

Smoked BBQ Wings: C-

Angus Brisket: B+

Value: B

Overall Score = 2.68

   

Safety First, the Watt's notebook.

Post Eta clean up sets. 18th Street, OCMD. 11/14/2020.

Well, all I can do in the end

Is bury it in the cellar
And only a fool would pretend
To blame it on the weather

-Seether, Dangerous

   We begin the official Crew-time 2nd Season, again. It's been a long year. After watching March through May slice by us due to the pandemic, we tested the waters. We started off kinda one foot in one foot out. Managed to squeeze a few rides from the slow June surf, but we were already into the third week before restarting our epicurean Quest. Across the summer months we played it safe. Distancing on the beach was not too difficult, but we chose our foodie destinations cautiously. On our stretch of the Right Coast, we were fortunate that many of the taverns, bars, and tiki dives we patronized were designed with both indoor and outdoor dining. And, in our comprehensive search for new locations we had a fairly decent mix of old and new. I know it was unusual for the Crew of the past, but we have kept all about safety first.

    The colder weather had set in. The week's heavy rainfall, brought on by the remnants of former hurricane, now Tropical Storm Eta creeping along the coast from the southwest, finally drying up as we drove up to the evening's layover. The latest challenge has been to continue to find a location that provides the comfort in safety that current times demand. Bad Monkey West (OC) was one of those bar & grills that met the criteria. Visited in June of '19, Bad Monkey has developed a firm hold of West OC. After taking a right at the last light before the Harry Kelley Bridge, there were three folks at the bar and only a couple of tables occupied, including ours in the corner with a view of the southern end of Ocean City and the Sinepuxent Bay. Course, it's Standard Time, so it was dark.

We scanned the beer and food menus within our view of the lights. A couple of brews for the Target and I and a few moments later, and we had our requests in. Old Bay Wings, The Country Boy- an 8 oz. burger, pork BBQ, and cole slaw, and a couple of Blackened Mahi Tacos.

I will begin by saying that it was a lot of food...not that we don't usually handle it, but it just seemed like a whole lot more than our usual spread. Maybe they were trying to get rid of the rest of the food as it was near closing (places closed by 9pm-10pm these days). Either way, the wings were hot, fat and juicy, nicely dusted (although we'd have taken more), and we got ten. The burger-BBQ combo was loaded and tangy...very tasty with plenty of chips. Lastly the tacos, also loaded with fish and trimming, but only warm and very dry

...the disappointment of the trio. Our waiter was eager to please, bringing our drink order out followed by the food both in short order. And, he was very good with the follow up. TVs were well located no matter where you sat, with a variety of sports. Music played included our classic rock favorites. All in all, in the current atmosphere of exposure, Bad Monkey served up good comfort food in a safe environment. It is why we came back. 

Bad Monkey West, 11/12/2020

THE RATINGS-

Old Bay Wings: B+

The Country Boy, Burger/BBQ: A-

Blackened Mahi Tacos: C

Beer: B

Atmosphere: B

Value: C+

Overall Score = 2.88

Curtain Call, the Watt's notebook.

"Foam is your friend. Don't be scared of it. A little bit of extra foam here and there is good for the soul,
and your surfing."  -Rob Machado
Season's curtain call on a foamy. Every last ride, full of stoke. 66th & Holidays, 10/28/2020.

   It's always a struggle for me during the closing sessions of the season. We had to get to the beach earlier. The sun dropped quicker. The darkness spread faster. The thigh to waist waves faded into the night more rapidly. Like ghosts racing towards month end, the sets would literally close on me just as I turned to paddle into 'em. Yeah, that was the most frustrating part of the last of the October sessions. Yet, I still managed to take advantage of a few frontside runs. And, that is always a stoked way to carry out the last curtain call. I was out in the lineup until I had disappeared from LWatt and Target's sight. I'm thinking that Target was tallying up his entitlements, even while LWatt began using her cell phone light to get my attention and wave me in. Guess it was pretty dark. I was doing all I could to snag that last ride. Not to be. For now, my last rides will be relegated to the weekends. A sectioned swell washed me in, and wrapping the leash around the tail, I walked up to LWatt and Target. They just shook their heads as we headed across the dune.

   A location that the Crew had visited when LWatt and I had first moved to the Pines in 2017 was Southgate Grill. Sitting at the south entrance to Ocean Pines, including a gazebo with a water and fountain view (yes, a pond). The bar seating was well spaced out, and we found our spot at a hi-top table waterside. Our bartender/waiter was quick to take our drink orders. The beer selection out on the gazebo was very limited, pretty much all domestic. And, while cold, they were served in, that's right, plastic. A couple TVs with sports highlights and classic rock piped through their sound system made our cold beers a bit more enjoyable.

We debated on the wings then settled for the Old Bay. We also put in an order for the Seafood Skins- potato skins loaded with shrimp, crab imperial, and topped with melted cheese, and the Steak Quesadillas stuffed with steak, cheese and pico de gallo. The Old Bay Wings were well dusted with seasoning and hot, but smaller than we'd been used to. The skins were ok- a little bland, no oomph in the flavor...not memorable. The Quesadillas won the night: cheesy, the right amount of pico, chunks of tender steak. Good service, decent bar food (and that's what it was, bar food- not great, but decent), and great conversation. Another bonus was the tab...very reasonable. That's what we got at Southgate, consistent food at reasonable prices. Overall, a definite consideration for another return trip. The curtain has dropped on our weekday Crew surf; we're entering the season of goodwill and festivity. West O, and Berlin on deck to face the Crew's appraisal, again. Stay safe.

THE RATINGS-
Old Bay Wings: C+
Seafood Skins: C
Steak Quesadillas: B
Beer: C-
Atmosphere: B-
Value: B+
Overall Score = 2.50