DaMo and Crunchik’n- Famished Foodie

The Famished Foodie finds fav bites from DaMo and Crunchik’n for fresh take out

IT WAS a Friday night in July and we – Princess Leia, Chewy and I, Han – found ourselves craving some fresh island cuisine. I was really in the mood to try a couple new eateries on the boards, so I made the gamble that the weekenders had already arrived and were chillin’ on their deck with a bev. So Chewy and I climbed into the Falcon and headed east, hoping to make a Boardwalk food run in under 12 parsecs.

Chewy and some of his compatriots had discovered Crunchik’n, a Korean-inspired eatery between 11th and 12th Streets, a day earlier, and we were headed there on his recommendation.
“There was a huge corn dog outside and it looked appealing, so we checked it out. It turned out to be really good,” said Chewy.
Princess Leia was longing to sample the fare from the shop next door – DaMo Pasta Lab, a newcomer to the boards with a sister restaurant in Philly. Here was our opportunity to try both. We logged coordinates and made the jump to light speed.
As we exited warp speed around 13th Street, I executed a gambit I call “The Local’s Dash” and soon found myself on the Boards, soaking in a beautiful Ocean City night while I waited in a short line to order Crunchik’n.
That’s one of the beauties of Ocean City; if you must wait for a short moment for some good food, there’s no better place than the Boards on a Friday in July. Savor those moments people. And finding two delicious and inventive eateries right next to each other? Take advantage man, take advantage.
Our servers were smiley and cool, and I had time to snap a few IG pics while I waited.
I’d considered calling ahead but Chewy assured me that we might have better luck just showing up and ordering. So that’s what we did, and it worked out great (if you can get a wheelman to drive you and wait, that works best). While we waited for our Crunchik’n order we got in line at DaMo and ordered up the three-piece pasta bite sampler.
The deep-fried pasta bites are a delicious bite as well as quite the feat of engineering. Inside the crisp-crunchy shell is a helping of a classic Italian meal. We chose three bites: a carbonaro bite with pork and parmigiano, a lasagna bite with beef, wide noodles, and veggies, and the cacio e pepe bite with pecorino romano and cornflakes.
Our orders were ready in no time, so we grabbed the loot and head back to the Falcon. Chewy devoured the Crunchik’n mozzarella cheese corn dog with sugar and ketchup before we exited the Boardwalk at 13th.
“It’s really good – it’s a crunchy corn dog. There’s cheese and the hot dog is pretty good. I got one yesterday and had to have another today. And no, I can’t really split it with you ‘cause it’s not designed for that.”
Whatever. We climbed back in the Falcon and were soon back at rebel base with a sack full of OC goodies. Well, except for the corn dog.
“This is insane; so delicious,” uttered the princess and she delicately disassembled a portion of a lasagna pasta bite. “These pasta bites from DaMo have a marvelous texture and a good balance of flavors. The rice bowl from Crunchik’n is so fresh and delicious with an excellent mix of flavors and textures. So glad you guys made the trip to get it.”
In addition to the pasta bites from DaMo and the Corn dog from Crunchik’n we had Korean popcorn chicken covered in a yummy glaze with a texture reminded me of a boneless wing. We also scored an order of Korean dumplings (so yummy) and a sweet chili spicy rice bowl from Crunchik’n.
“Everything is just so insanely good,” exclaimed the princess once again.

Find this story and more in the August magazine.