Sunday 28th of December 2014 09:36:00 PM

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Ocean City Maryland is a very popular and enjoyable beach town. The lengthy Atlantic Avenue beachfront boardwalk is lined with hotels, shops and places to eat. The Coastal Highway that runs the center of the barrier island has many worthy stops including several new breweries. In the summer peak season, the town is quite crowded and parking can be a challenge, but with 5 breweries and some great bars, it is definitely worth visiting anytime. Hooper's Crab Shack is a stand-alone building on the intracoastal waterway, on the western edge of Ocean City. The large two-story building has a bright red roof and a red caboose in front for take out food. They have a large dedicated parking lot which makes visiting easy. Just inside their memorabilia gift shop is on the left, and further ahead is a small game room. The main dining area has a nautical theme, and is wildly decorated with a motorcycle, racecar, and a small airplane hanging overhead. Wooden statues of various characters add life. Everything is wooden construction with a high beam ceiling. The main bar is multi-sided wooden with 20 chairs., and above the bar is a second level which has small copper brewing vessels. The name of the in-house brewery is Fin City Brewing, and you can find their beer on tap here and locally. Out back is a covered wooden patio with plenty of seating. Downstairs is a wooden pier that extends out to the water, where boaters can tie off while stopping by for a meal. There is a shack that rents out jet skis, making this a fully entertaining family friendly destination. At the end of the pier is a red roofed gazebo called Sneaky Pete's bar. Inside is a small 3-sided wooden bar with 14 chairs, surrounded by open air wooden patio booths. The view is great, the island theme is relaxing, and Jimmy Buffett music is playing in the background. They have just 3 house beers on tap which are drinkable but slightly below average. The tap handles are miniature fishing rod and reels. Their food menu consists of a great variety of seafood, especially crabs, and their clever funnel cake fries are delicious. The service is super friendly, casual and proficient. It is a fun place well worth visiting.

Monday 30th of June 2014 01:23:36 PM

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As part of a group of seven, we showed up for a birthday celebration. The place was rather dark and looked fairly unorganized. My first impression was not good. There were only two of the Fin City offerings on draught listed, an IPA and an amber ale. I ordered the IPA and the server came back and said they didn't have any so I got the amber. There was nothing special about it. Meanwhile, another at the table wound up with a bottle of the IPA. The server didn't have the wits to suggest to me the bottle offering. The food took a while to arrive even though it wasn't that busy. My GF & I ordered the crab pot special & were rewarded by two waterlogged pots of food. Others in the group said their food was fine but ours was a total disappointment. Won't be going back there in the future.