A Foodie's Beach Town Dream: Best Foods in Ocean City, Maryland

Ocean City, Maryland, is one of the quintessential vacation towns along the United States' Atlantic coastline. With Virginia to the south, Delaware to the north, and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean to its east, it is in the perfect spot for the American family vacation. Massive hotels line the sandy ground like guards on patrol. The boardwalk is a three-mile-long walk of nostalgia, food, and stores.

This barrier island has developed from a simple fishing village in the early 1900s to the epitome of an American vacation town from the 1960s on. As the city developed into what it is today, the landscape was transformed into a new identity that people will not forget once they visit. Along with the development of the physical landscape came the experiences that stick with you forever. Beyond the fun of the boardwalk rides and the endless frolicking on the beach, another staple of Ocean City is the food!

Ocean City is known for a number of their great treats. From candy to seafood, this place has it all. Below, I will list the best places for food in Ocean City, with the occasional photo from my vacation there. The places I will list include:

• Candy Kitchen,
• Hooper's Crab House,
• Phillips Seafood,
• Fisher's Popcorn,
• Fractured Prune,
• and Ocean City's Famous Thrasher fries!

For the best candy, sweets, and treats, the best spot is Candy Kitchen. Among the dozens of treats, you can also get fudge and salt water taffy! Many locations offer ice cream as well. You can't miss a Candy Kitchen in Ocean City or up into the Delaware beaches because of their bright pink and orange décor. My personal favorite treat from Candy Kitchen is the dark chocolate covered marshmallows!

Below is an old Candy Kitchen TV commercial, most likely from the late 1980s or 1990s. It's definitely a dated commercial but the famous eastern shore candy store is still around today!

Being a city named after the ocean and having the Atlantic Ocean as a boarder makes this place a great spot for seafood! There are two well known places to dine in Ocean City for seafood. One is the famous Phillipp's Seafood. This place always has a line out the door. However, my favorite seafood spot in Ocean City is Hooper's Crab House. It's across the bay from downtown Ocean City, but you can't miss the place as you go over the Route 50 bridge.

Hooper's Crab House offers you great seating on a deck overlooking the bay and looking out towards the strip of land known as Ocean City. This place offers a true seafood experience. The all-you-can eat buffet for less then $30 supplies you with unlimited whole crabs, corn on the cob, hush puppies, and steamed spiced shrimp. All of it just thrown on your table (which is covered in paper) for you to eat like the feast that it is! Even though Hooper's Crab House looks like a warehouse from the outside, it is a true seafood lover's palace.

If your down in Ocean City for the weekend or the whole week, and you need something to snack on or something to bring back to that friend that watched your house, go no further than Fisher's Popcorn. This iconic popcorn stand has been around for decades and offers a great assortment in popcorn. My family usually gets the white bucket of carmel popcorn. There's two great things about this place; they make the popcorn right in front of you and if you bring back your empty white bucket, you get a discounted refill! A trip to Ocean City wouldn't be right without some Fisher's Popcorn. Below is a picture of Fisher's Popcorn Stand on the Boardwalk. The photo was taken at 10 AM and yet people are still gathering to get some popcorn!

If your looking for a great breakfast treat, look out for the strangely named Fractured Prune. This place offers great donuts and has been around for decades. The variety of donuts they offer is amazing, it's like picking out toppings for ice cream! My personal favorites include the chocolate sprinkles and rainbow sprinkles on plain donuts, but I also love a creamsicle donut!

Get to Fracture Prune early because the line gets long fast and it's the go to for breakfast take out! To get your mouth watering, check out some of the Fractured Prune donuts in the photo below!

Finally, what would Ocean City cuisine be without the infamous Thrasher Fries!

These fries are the best I have ever had. They have been nationally recognized and I've even seen them on national talk shows. There is always lines 20 to 30 feet long at the main store at the beginning of the boardwalk but it's well worth the wait!

The best way to have your french fries is with salt and vinegar! There have been many times where my family and I have substituted whole meals for a bucket of Thrasher Fries! The picture is from the smaller Thrasher Fries store halfway down the boardwalk. Once again, the photo was taken early in the morning before the store really opened up, hence no lines.

Well, I hope my suggestions help! After going to Ocean City for almost every summer of my life and my parents going even longer, I still find the food above amazing. If you ever get to visit Ocean City, I hope you will try some of these great gems. Enjoy your food at the beach!