Boardwalk Food

Whenever I walk the boards, I am overcome with sensory overload.  Besides the flashing lights and the noise of the rides and games, it is the smells of the food that hits me the hardest.  In most cases, it's not necessarily a bad smell.  It's more like a deep-fried nuisance kind of smell.  

What is this?  It doesn't look like chocolate or bananas!

In a few short blocks, you can find a walk-up doughnut stand that puts ice cream on top of their fried goodies, Polish water ice, deep fried Oreos, Funnel Cake, Street Tacos, and beach fries sold by the bucket.

Much like the sea gulls that scour the boards looking for dropped French fries and discarded waffle cones, we become seaside vultures that scour the boardwalk eating garbage. 

There never seems to be real healthy choices.  Then again, you are walking and burning off calories so you can afford to treat yourself, right?

The history of boardwalk food began during the Depression, when elaborate ocean-front hotels that used to offer fine dining gave way to a "fast food" stands offering pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream at an affordable price.  The Alaska Stand on 9th St. & Boardwalk in Ocean City, MD has been around for over 75 years and offers breakfast, lunch/dinner platters, as well as on-the-go treats such as ice cream, smoothies, funnel cake, and lemonade.

I have fond memories of eating Vanilla soft-serve ice cream cones on the boardwalk as a kid.  I remember having to finish them quickly to keep the warm temps and salty air from making them a sticky mess that ran down my arm.

As bad for you as it is, there is something nostalgic and satisfying about taking that first bite of a freshly-spun cotton candy and feeling it turn to hard sugar once it hits your teeth.  Or, what's better than buying a pound of fudge for a relative at home and eating half of the box before you check out of your hotel room?

The boardwalk provides you with a large variety of food choices, quick service, free entertainment, and low prices.  Sometimes there is limited seating, but benches empty quickly and most items can be gobbled up while walking (which you should definitely do a lot of 'cause that most of that crap is really fattening).  All things considered, it really is the best dining value at the beach.