Dockside Kitchen- In the Kitchen
SITTING down at Dockside Kitchen, 2nd and the bay, it’s easy to instantly understand the appeal of dining there. Their deck faces the sparkling bay, the bright colors of the Aqua Park are floating nearby, boats and jet skies are around… the seagulls are cawing. It feels like heaven in Ocean City.
“It’s a dockside, laid back casual vibe but you’re getting such quality food. I feel like [people] come in because they want to be on the water, especially with dinner. You come for the view but you’re staying because the food is so good. We have people come back every Saturday and Sunday morning,” said Catherine Dunn, manager. “You get to sit on the bay and eat Lobster Benedict and Nutella French Toast.” The Nutella French Toast comes topped with warm Nutella and sliced bananas.
One of Catherine’s favorite Dockside specialties is classic breakfast with a seafood twist.
“My favorite breakfast item is the Crab Cake Benedict. You get the crab cake, poached eggs, and braised tomato on an English Muffin. Our Rosemary Home Fries are so good. I always get them with the Old Bay Aioli on the side. It’s delicious.”
Dockside grows their own herbs and flowers.
“The seating area out front in the waiting area, we just put new plants there. All of them are the herbs we use in the kitchen and edible flowers too. Our new chef planted all of those. She’s like ‘Why not grow our own cilantro or our own basil? We have the sun,’” said Catherine.
Edible orchids adorn the serving dishes. And they’re not the only elegant touch to your meal.
“We actually whip butter every day. We don’t half do anything here. The strawberries and everything are cut daily. It’s top notch.”
The atmosphere makes Dockside feel like home for its employees.
“People come back every year because even if you spend your whole summer working you feel like you’ve spent your whole summer outside with nice people outside on the bay. I get off work sometimes and I don’t feel like I need to go to the beach,” said Catherine.
Dockside Kitchen has a few sister restaurants on the island – Drip N Scoop, Sunrise Cafe, Dead End Bakehouse, and Sand House Kitchen.
“We get our bagels and our sourdough bread from Dead End Bakehouse. It’s nice to have the tie between the few restaurants because we get our cold brew from Drip N Scoop. People who know they like Drip N Scoop coffee know that they can come here and get the same coffee, which is cool.”
Dockside Kitchen is always expanding their menu and finding new offerings for their guests.
“We just added a new short rib omelet to the menu. Inside the omelet, there’s the short rib and our bacon onion jam. It’s been really popular,” Catherine said. “We also just added a soft shell crab sandwich. People have been asking for it. This season, we’re doing specials once a week. A few weeks ago we had a pineapple upside down pancake. The other day, we had cinnamon bun pancakes.”
Dockside Kitchen makes bay-inspired cuisine.
“Lots of people come for the lobster roll. It’s a six inch long roll which to me is more than you get at most places when you get a lobster roll, which is great. It’s just full chunks of lobster with old bay aioli on top and lettuce and tomato. That’s definitely one of our most popular lunch items. Fish tacos are also popular,” Catherine said.
The fish tacos are made with beer battered cod, cilantro-lime sour cream, pickled vegetable slaw, thinly sliced avocado, and tomatillo sauce. The lobster mac and cheese is also popular.
“They’re making it to order. As someone who works in the restaurant every day, I have to stop myself from eating it all of the time,” said Catherine.
Dockside Kitchen offers a members-only dinner club.
“Dinner club is Thursday-Sunday from 5-9pm. Anyone can join. You can BYOB. It’s nice too because it’s all members and you’re not waiting two hours for a table. When you come your table is ready for you; you probably know your server.”
Eating at Dockside means you may get to see Mother Nature put on a show. During the interview, seagulls were noisily keeping an eye on two horseshoe crabs.
“We’re close to the inlet. On Saturdays and Sundays, we’ll see sailboats go by. It’s like being at a zoo. It’s very interesting. You get used to hearing seagulls all day,” Catherine said. “The best thing is when the dolphins come into the bay, which is not very often but it has happened and it’s so cool.
Find this story and more in our August magazine.