OC Promenade

Our Foodie takes a lap around this food court

DEADHEADGIRL is a big fan of live music and was able to snag us tickets to
“Killer Queen; A Tribute to Queen,” at the Music Pier. So DeadHeadGirl and I spent a week listening to, and then re-listening to, the majestic and booming sounds of Freddie Mercury and his legendary band mates. Killer Queen is a top touring Queen tribute band, featuring revivals of the four legendary members, with Patrick Myers as the explosive Freddie Mercury. DHG and I cruised up to the boards– tickets in hand – and into the Music Pier where we spent a Monday night in July watching great live music in a great venue in America’s Greatest Family Resort – I try to savor these moments. And when it was over we were hungry.
So we headed a block north to the OC Promenade, at 744 Boardwalk. It’s like an open-air, well, food court. There are small eateries surrounding an patio with clean tables and umbrellas. Step in and you’ll find almost 10 different small restaurants serving their own specialty.
You’re a fan of cheesesteaks? They got a cheesesteak place. There’s gyros, cookies and ice cream, pierogies, tacos, pizza – every Boardwalk staple food in one place. DHG and I toured the court, trying to decide what our taste buds wanted.
I decided on pierogies. Pierogies are good party food packing a flavor punch in a small package. The name of the eatery is L.P.’s Pierogies, so I ordered the signature dish, the L.P. Pierogie, consisting of butter, garlic, mozzarella and potato in a pasta pocket… #yum.
This was just what I wanted after dancing to Queen for two hours. That pierogie hit all the post-show notes with a big garlic flavor, just the right amount of mozz, and some butter to make it go down easy.
DHG headed to the other side of the court where she discovered a chicken gyro that was just her style.
“They heated the chicken right on the flat top in front of me,” she said. “I liked that, it was pretty cool. They took their time and made sure it was well-chopped. I like when they pay attention to those details because it makes a better sandwich. And it was really good.”
There’s plenty of seating in the courtyard. The sun was bright, so we settled into a table under an umbrella and got a feel for the different eateries.
The NY-style pizza is up front and, full disclosure, I actually grabbed a slice of Sicilian before the show. That’s right. We didn’t have time to make dinner and by the time we got to the Music Pier. I slid right up to the pizza place in the front, got a tender, thick, square slice and munched it down. This made the entire show more enjoyable.
DHG ordered up a gyro (is it hee-roh, yee-roh or Jie-roh)? Either way, this is good grinds.
“This gyro is awesome,” said DHG. “I wanted something after the show that was delish, but not too heavy. I added the feta because IYKYK.”
We’d spent the last two hours dancing to Killer Queen and enjoying good eats. So as I hit the fresh air of the Boardwalk I paused to soak it in. There are few things better, IMHO, than a summer night on the Ocean City Boardwalk. You can see top-notch shows including Get the Led Out and the Ocean City Pops. Then you can get dinner within walking distance, finish it off with ice cream and still take home a late-night Scooby snack such as macaroons or popcorn. I always enjoy that Boardwalk bouquet– somewhere between salty sea breeze and sugary nose candy – it’s like aromatherapy.
We finished the whole thing off with an ice-cream cookie sandwich served up by Marina. We chose the peanut butter cup cookies and vanilla ice cream and promptly scarfed it down while heading for the exit ramp.
We walked down 8th Street, admiring the way Ocean City looks at night. It’s a totally different vibe after dark and we like strolling through the darkness. We wandered around for a while, admiring the town and reminiscing of houses from our past, including a home we stayed in on 7th Street. It was a great night and it’s a great memory.
Ocean City is good for that.

Find this and more in the August issue of OC Magazine