5 must-try foods on your Ocean City beach vacation
Whether you're a seasoned tourist or a beach newbie, your next beach vacation needs to include nibbles from these spots.
Thrashers French Fries
Thrashers has served salty potatoes with vinegar since 1929, staying true to the original recipe.
Vacation isn't complete without one bucket, at least, of these iconic Ocean City and Rehoboth Boardwalk fries.
"We've been coming here since we were kids," said Angie Anderson of Readington, New Jersey. "They haven't changed, either — still as amazing as I remember them. Thrashers are the best french fries ever."
After 80 years, the fries are still an Ocean City favorite in taste and appearance. Eat yours plain or smothered in vinegar — either way, it's going to be delicious.
The Orange Crush
During the last 20 years, the Orange Crush has turned into the unofficial summertime beach drink. Made with squeezed oranges, vodka, triple sec and Sprite, nearly every bar and restaurant along the Delmarva coast features it on their menu.
Make sure to try the original, though, at Harborside Bar and Grille in West Ocean City. Since Chris Wall, Harborside owner, and his friends Jerry Wood and Kelly Flynn created the drink in the fall of 1995, the restaurant has sold crushes by the millions. Along with the original crush, Harborside offers 10 variations including Cranberry, Ciroc Peach, Key Lime and the Crushsicle, made with Smirnoff Whipped Cream Vodka.
Maggie King of Ocean City considers herself a crush connoisseur, having sipped on the drink from as far north as New Jersey to as far south as Virginia Beach. But she favors the original.
"It's the best," she said. "Harborside's crushes are perfectly blended every time."
Crabs
Hopefully you're in the mood for crab cakes, steamed crabs, crab soup, crab balls, crab dip or a crab smothered pretzel, because you'll have no problem getting 'crabby' during your stay at the beach.
Maryland is known for its abundance of crustaceans, so make sure you take advantage of it like the locals do. There are hundreds of restaurants in the resort towns that feature crab recipes on their menu.
"One of my favorite things about summer is a big bushel of steamed crabs," said Brandon Reed of Crisfield. "Nothing like crabs at the beach."
Dumser's Dairyland
Since 1939, Dumser's has been churning fresh ice cream daily. In addition to hand-dipped flavors, Dumer's sells ice cream sodas, floats, creamy milkshakes and sundaes like the Nutty Buddy: three dips of peanut butter fudge ice cream covered in hot fudge, peanuts, whipped cream and a cherry. Or try the Dusty Dumser: three dips of creamy vanilla ice cream covered with crushed malt powder, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry.
Dumser's interior resembles a 1940s diner with old-fashioned tin ceilings, high-back booths and ice cream counter service. Both Ocean City locations also offer a full menu featuring breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Caramel popcorn
Whether you want to munch on some while enjoying views from the Boardwalk or if you'd prefer to take a plastic tub back home, each trip to the beach needs a bit of caramel popcorn from Fisher's or Dolle's.
Fisher's Popcorn is a small family business that has specialized in caramel popcorn since 1937, now offering other flavors too, like caramel with peanuts, cinnamon, butter, white cheddar and Old Bay popcorn. Dolle's Candyland Inc., is a fourth generation candy company that has been manufacturing saltwater taffy, buttery caramel popcorn, creamy fudge and other candies since 1910.
As far as competition between the two, Anna Dolle Bushnell, co-owner of Dolle's Candyland, says it's always been friendly.
"We have completely different recipes and therefore different tastes," she said. "We might offer similar product but we are completely different. It's like comparing Coke (to) Pepsi. There is a strong following for each."
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