Kabuto Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar

After a very exhausting week, my wife and I was ready to hit a restaurant for our anniversary. The one we were suppose to go too, closed up after about 3 months of operation. So my next suggestion was Kabuto Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. We have been here with friends before and was pleased. This place is not like any other Japanese steakhouse, the decor alone blows any one's away. The main foyer has a huge Koi pond leading into the restaurant, which I thought was very neat. Beautiful tile and wall decor to give you that old Japan feeling. The lighting is unbelievable, not to dark, but the wall in another dining area changes colors frequently.

Baltimore Roll

 The Food: To me all Japanese steakhouse's taste the same. So to me, it is about quantity for the right price. Of course everyone has either been to or heard of Kobe Japanese steak and seafood. Kobe charges more for less. At Kabuto, they give you more for a much lesser price. The sushi prices are very reasonable. The first time at Kabuto, I had the spicy tuna, one of my favorite sushi's. On my visit this past Saturday, I had the sushi sampler. It is the chef's sushi of the day. It was not bad at all. When it comes to the hibachi, I always get the same, chicken and shrimp, or steak and shrimp. The hibachi chef always put on a great show for you to eat. Excellent low mein noodles and fried rice. The hibachi vegetables goes great with the yum yum sauce. If you have never had yum yum sauce you are missing out and it is a must. I'm gonna be totally honest, Kabuto's is well worth it.

 The Service: I have read many written reviews on many other site's such as Yelp and 5 out of 10 people complained about the service. I have been to Kabuto's twice and have never once had bad service. We never went without an empty drink and as soon as I ordered my sushi, it came right out 5 minutes later. Very quick and efficient.

 Overall: I hope this restaurant succeeds in this area. I have seen many restaurants come and go in the Golden Ring area, one being a Japanese Steakhouse, which went out of business. The decor alone is breath taking, very clean, friendly staff, and really good food. I'm not big on giving ratings, but this place would get a 5 star rating. If you are in the area and you want some great food, stop in this place. I would definitely recommend this place over Kobe and Sakura's.

Pizza Tugo

Someone made a great point about Ocean City, there are too many pizza place's. Which is a great point, I mean who wants to drive 3 hours to eat pizza? I'm sure the majority of you have ate at some of Baltimore's best pizza restaurants. Pizza in Ocean City is good for after 2am, after the bar closes, for lunch, or a late dinner when everything is packed. Which brings me to my next restaurant, Pizza Tugos. This is some of the best pizza I have had in Ocean City. Pizza Tugos is Ocean City's original pizza delivery since 1983. With 3 locations, uptown, downtown, and West Ocean City. West Ocean City location offers the Taphouse, which has a large selection of craft beers from local breweries. 

Pizza Tugos W. Ocean City

 The Food: We never had anything other then the wings and pizza. The pizza was excellent and some of the best I have had in Ocean City. Yeah you see the Dough Roller's up and down Coastal Highway, but nothing compared to Pizza Tugos. You create your own pizza with 22 different toppings, or you can order one of their craft pizza's off the menu. Pizza Tugos offers calzones and breadstix's. They also offer you typical appetizers, subs, pasta, salads a kids menu, and wings. Most pizza place's that offer wings are small. Not Pizza Tugos, these wings were biggest, fattest, and juiciest wings you can find. You will be pleasantly surprised. These wings are Ocean City's best kept secret. They offer, hot, mild, Old Bay, Extra hot, BBQ, Chipolte hot, garlic Parmesan, sweet Thai chili, and sweet teriyaki.

 The Service: We ordered our food for delivery this year. They offer 30 minute free delivery. Last year we ate in and was happy with the service.

 Overall: One of Ocean City's hidden gems when it comes to food. You will be surprised how good the pizza is and how fat the wings are. Ocean City Maryland's only Coke freestyle machine.Over 150 flavors. When you visit Ocean City, make sure you grab all the coupons and travel guides for the Pizza Tugos specials. www.pizzatugos.com

Nicks Original House of Ribs

Want to catch a break from seafood? Nicks Original House of Ribs could be your place. Nicks is famous for their baby back ribs, juicy Black Angus steak, burgers, prime rib, barbeque shrimp and famous Onion loaf.

Nicks Original House of Ribs

The Food: If you want a change of pace from seafood, Nicks could be your answer. Lets not beat around the bush, you must have the crab cheese toast and the Nick famous onion loaf ( bloomin onion ). Both are served with horseradish sauce. I will repeat, both are a must for an appetizer. Ribs are suppose to fall off the bone without a knife. Well you can cut their ribs with a knife. Don't get me wrong, great taste, just not cooked right. The boneless piece of barbeque chicken I had was a bit dry. My wife had the London broiled, well she said it was her once and only time she would have that. All of your entrees come with two sides. 

 The Service: The service at Nicks is not jaw dropping, but it is not bad either. I never had a empty glass of ice tea and our food came out accurate.

 Overall: Nicks is located in North Ocean City at the Delaware/ Maryland line on 145th St. It would be hard to judge if they have the best ribs in OC, since OC is not a known for ribs. I will say they are not the best ribs I have had, but not the worst either. As I have stated above, the crab toast is a must when visiting Nicks. If I would have to rate this restaurant on 5 stars, I would give it 3. www.nickshosueofribs.com

Sunset Grille

No this is not the Sunset Grille you are thinking of in Anne Arundel County. This Sunset Grille is located in West Ocean City. This hidden gem is recommended by Trip Advisor. Sunset Grille and Teasers Dock bar are open 7 days a week serving lunch and dinner. Enjoy the beautiful views of the bay as you dine on fresh fish and seafood. Enjoy outdoor cocktails, happy hour, and live entertainment at Teasers Dockside bar. Groups and parties welcomed.  With 3 bars, 2 sitting rooms, 2 dining rooms and an outdoor venue, there is something for everyone.

 The Food: This was our first time dining at the Sunset Grille and may not be our last. We had a coupon for free crab dip with 2 adult entrees. The crab dip was excellent. I highly recommended. My wife and I both got the chicken Chesapeake. Considering that is one of my favorite dishes.  The chicken Chesapeake, consisted of pan seared chicken breast topped with ham, jumbo lump crab meat, spinach, provolone cheese and a whole grain mustard cream sauce. You can choose between baked potato or mashed potato and a choice of a vegetable. Asparagus, edamame, baked beans, Cole slaw, potato salad, or french fries. Of course I went with the asparagus. They also have a nice size kids menu.

 The Service: Excellent service. Our waitress Rena was on the ball, we never had an empty glass. Bus boys were constantly coming around clearing your table of empty plates. The staff was super friendly and even enjoyed playing around with my kids. 

Sunset Grille

Overall: The overall experience was excellent, I would recommend going there while in Ocean City. Sunset Grille offers many special throughout the summer. Happy Hour is Monday thru Friday 3pm- 6pm. Free crab dip with the purchase of 2 adult entrees and a $10 off two adult entrees. www.ocsunsetgrille.com

De Lazy Lizard

De Lazy Lizard is one of the newer bar and grill in Ocean City. Located at the end of 1st st and the bay. De Lizard offers you a Caribbean style open style bar where you can enjoy live entertainment throughout the day and evenings. De Lizard offers a couple different dining sections. Bar side which is for non families, the playground side which is for families, and indoor seating. Playground side is great for the families, what kid wants to sit around and wait for their food, so why not play on the giant pirate ship playground?

 The Food: We came to De Lazy Lizard during the beginning of June. We expected a full menu, but was disappointed by a select menu. It was just appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches and some fried baskets. There was nothing of any entrees, raw bar, or specials. We ordered some mozzarella sticks for my kids and the wife and I split some fried pickle spears. My kids will eat the mozzarella sticks regardless, but the fried pickles, well the Green Turtle still has the best. So with slim pickings, I go with the Crabby Chicken, which is basically a Chicken Chesapeake. I would recommend not getting it, it was not that good and the chicken seemed a little over cooked. I would recommend Dead Freddie's for the Chicken Chesapeake. My mother in law got the nachos. You can't go wrong with nachos right? Well they overloaded the nachos with jalapenos. She couldn't even eat the rest. They have your typical kids menu. chicken tenders. mac and cheese, cheeseburger, hot dog, and pizza. My kids were too interested in playing on the playground, although my youngest did like the mac and cheese. According to our server, they will have a full menu in the next couple of weeks, I guess they are losing money because of senior week.

1st and the Bay

  Service: Once again I'm not gonna complain about the service, unless it was really that bad. The only couple of things I noticed was, we received our appetizers, but no napkins and plates. You have kids, you need plates and plenty of napkins. Other then that, service was fine. I do feel for the server's though. They have to walk pretty far to run their food and drinks. 

 Overall: This is a bar and grill for lunch, it did not strike me as a dinner type of place. It has a great atmosphere, the decor was really nice. It reminded me more of a Dead Freddie's type of restaurant minus the select menu. Not to mention, I wanted an adult beverage and asked for the drink menu, once again the drink menu was select. Maybe because it was real early in the season.  This is definitely not one of my favorite restaurants in Ocean City. This is one restaurant in OC, we will not be heading back too. www.delazylizard.net 

The Embers Restaurant

 The Embers Restaurant started back in the late 1950's by two brothers on 9th st and the boardwalk. They would move over to 23rd and Coastal Highway a few years later. Embers was the first and the largest all you can eat prime rib and seafood buffet in Ocean City.

 Embers Restaurant 23rd and Coastal Hwy

The Food: Snow crab legs, steamed shrimp, raw oysters, fried oyster, friend clam strips, fried shrimp, seafood medley, mussels,hand breaded catfish, salmon in lemon dill sauce, steamed clams, crab imperial, fried Pollock, and much more seafood. cheese and pepperoni pizza, french fries, hush puppies, fried chicken, sweet and spicy chicken, assorted pasta and meatballs, garlic mash potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, BBQ spare ribs, beef teriyaki, shrimp salad, mixed greens salad, corn on the cob, Cole slaw, tuna salad,  Caesar salad, make your own salad, cheesecake, soft serve ice cream, assorted cakes and cookies, rice pudding, brownies, prime rib, baked ham, top round of beef and many many more special chef creations.

The Service: I'm not one to complain about service unless it is really bad. It's a buffet, how bad can service be? you are serving yourself. Well they still have to stay on top of your beverage and keep emptying your shell bowl. 

Overall: This is the second year in a row we have come to Embers. I have eaten their many of times as a kid, but all I can remember is eaten their and Coastal Highway flooding. I think the food is excellent and a reasonable price. $33.99 adult buffet, $14.99 junior buffet, $2.00 for toddlers and children under 2 are free. So take your 2 year old's there as much as you can. $5 off on the early bird 3pm to 4 pm. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is visiting Ocean City. www.embers.com