Serendipity

I had never heard of Serendipity in Oak Orchard, but some friends convinced me to give it a try. It's a bit out of the way, but it has a great view on the Indian River Bay, making it a destination restaurant (particularly since there aren't any other shops or restaurants nearby).

The decor is eclectic, with lots of tchotchkes on the walls and ceilings. The menu is also all over the map, with lots of Italian and seafood selections. A sign near the front door indicated that they feature Polish foods on Wednesday nights.

After we ordered, we were invited to try the restaurant's bread table, which had a nice selection to choose from. Then, I started with the Maryland crab soup, in a red base. This was a disappointment, as it was overly salted. I've had better soup out of a can.

Then, I had the broiled scallops, which came with a potato side, along with a veggie. Sadly, the highlight of this meal was the mashed pototoes. They were extremely creamy (some cream cheese added, perhaps?), with just the right amount of garlic. The scallops were overcooked and extremely tough. Nuff said. I originally chose brocolli as my veggie, but they ran out of that. (I'm not sure how, as we were there early, and the dining room was empty, but I digress). Anyway, I switched to corn, which was apparently scooped right out of the can and onto my dish.

In summary: Serendipity has a great location, some great bread, and disappointing food.

Go Fish!

I’m a big fan of fish and chips, so I was excited to try Go Fish in Rehoboth Beach. Go Fish is advertised as an authentic British-style shop, so M and I thought that we would give it a go. Basically, the food was fine, but nothing spectacular. However, when I think fish & chips, I’m thinking pub/street food, so for me, the $17 for a plate of fish & chips was too high. In addition, when you add if the fact that our server really pushed us out of the restaurant, it felt like we were getting fast-food restaurant treatment at fancy-pants restaurant prices. By way of comparison, M also had the fish and chips at the Blue Coast a few weeks ago, and the price was the same. M preferred the meal at the Blue Coast better, the environment is much nicer (sunset over the bay!) and the service was much more pleasant and unrushed.

We did notice on our way out that Go Fish has a take-out version of the meal that we ordered for only $10. If you are in the mood for fish and chips while you are in Rehoboth Beach, I would recommend getting the take-out platter and heading down to the boardwalk to eat on one of the benches there.

Blue Coast Seafood Grill

Blue Coast Seafood Grill and Fish Market is a restaurant (with an adjacent fish shop) just north of Bethany Beach on route 1 (southbound side). A group of 6 of us visited there a few weeks ago, and I’m sure that we will be back. Fortunately, The Blue Coast is open year round, so we will probably give it a try in the off season.

We were seated quickly, and we were given a nice table with a beautiful sunset view over the wetlands. We tried the baby spinach salad with apples, blue cheese, cranberries, pistachios, served with orange vinaigrette, which was just outstanding. For my main, I ordered the pan roasted scallops with cheddar grits, which was served with a tomato-based sauce. This dish was unbelievably good. I was so focused on my food, that I did not really get a chance to take notes on everyone else’s meals, although I do remember that everyone was very pleased with their selection.

For mains, the prices range from $18 (fish and chips) to $40 (surf and turf).

Great setting, great food, great service, and reasonable (for the beach area) prices … Blue Coast Seafood Grill was a hit with our group.

Lazy Susan's Hot Fat Crabs

Lazy Susan's is a local institution, loved by both tourists and locals. Whenever I have guests from out of town, they always request that we go to Lazy Susan's. It's a typical, informal crab shack, with picnic tables with paper pulled from the big rolls to serve as table cloths. Order a mess of crabs and a pitcher of beer and go to town. I've been there three times this summer, and have had great food and service every time. If you don't feel like picking crabs, get the crab dip or a crab cake. If your group is a bit slow at picking crabs, order them 1/2 dozen at a time, so that they are always steaming hot for you.


My recommendation? If your looking for crabs at a reasonable price, Lazy Susan's can't be beat! The only downside is that Lazy Susan's is popular, so you may have a wait to get a table.