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Home // Forums // OCEANCITY.COM FORUM // Ocean City Restaurants-OC Dining

BLUE OX STEAKHOUSE AND RAW BAR

8 replies

Tue, 05/01/2007 - 12:28
Beth'sOC
Beach Bum
Ocean City, MD
Joined: 07/19/2006
Sand Dollars: 148
User offline. Last seen 2 years 23 weeks ago.

Hey everyone!

Last Saturday the boyfriend and I were out looking for a new place to eat. We stumbled across the Blue Ox Steakhouse and Raw Bar aroudn 125th street and decided to see what it was like. OH MY! I was soooo impressed! It was definately more of an upscale place, but still nicely dress casual. I ordered a white wine at the bar while we waited for our table. The bar/lounge was very nice and comfortable. We sat down at our table and was greeted by a waiter. As appetizers my boyfriend ordered a 1/2 pound of lrg shirmp and I order french onion soup. It was the most amazing french onion soup I have ever had! SUPERB! The shrimp were also nice and very well cooked. For entre I order the crab cakes with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The crab cakes were the best I have ever had in OC! huge pieces of crab meat the size of my thumb. All in all it was the best dinner i have ever had in OC.

Restaurant Stats:
Location: around 125th street. plenty of parking
Prices: Appetizers - $7-12, Soups/Salads $7-10, Entres - $20-34, Desserts $5-7, Drinks $4-6
Decor: Nicely lite with modern lamps and dinner candles. Very open, yet intimate at each table.

my only complaint is that the booth table seemed far away from my body and I felt like a little kid sitting at it. Other than that everything else was awesome! You have to try this place out!




Tue, 05/01/2007 - 13:56
#1
OCtheBeach.com
OCtheBeach.com's picture
Sunburnt
Ocean City and Baltimore
Joined: 07/30/2006
Sand Dollars: 186
User offline. Last seen 4 weeks 6 days ago.

Beth'sOC;22768 wrote:
...You have to try this place out!...

We did - a year ago - and here is the experince we had...

"Such a shame. We'll be going back to make sure our first experience was not just an 'off night.'

For starters, the Seared Cajun Scallops appetizer was an absolute delight -- would go back just for that as a lite-fare snack. We like Riesling, and the only Riesling on the wine list was the cheapest wine they had, but (at only $15) it was surprisingly good.

The disappointing part arrived in the form of my wife's Petite Filet Mignon and my (all-time favorite) New York Strip. The Filet seemed to lack something--taste. The Strip had great flavor, but was less than 1/2 grizzle-free. When our server noticed that I did not eat much steak I explained why and asked her to tell the manager. Either she didn't care, or he didn't care. (I hope it was the manger because our server seemed like a truly nice person.) Next time I want a NY Strip (that I can trust) we'll walk on over to Croc's and save eight bucks. I can understand the occasional "bad" piece of meat in a busy place, but the lack of concern by either server or manager is inexcusable."

Evidently not all visits are as great as yours. But most people I have talked with did have a good time and a good meal. I am hoping that our evening was an anomoly. So, we'll be going back just to see... :confused:






Wed, 05/02/2007 - 08:45
#2
mink66
Sunburnt
Ocean Pines, MD
Joined: 06/13/2006
Sand Dollars: 486
User offline. Last seen 4 weeks 3 days ago.

My only experience at the Blue Ox was very similar to the review you posted OCtheBeach. Lackluster to say the least. Of course, this was about 3 months after the Blue Ox first opened and I think this summer will be the start of their third season.

However, I've now had 3 friends or family members patronize the Blue Ox since then and all of their experiences were mediocre also.:confused: :confused: :confused:






Wed, 05/02/2007 - 10:38
#3
terrapin05
Beach Bum
Joined: 06/17/2005
Sand Dollars: 175
User offline. Last seen 3 days 2 hours ago.

I will give it another try also, but our only experience there was so-so. I broke the rule of not ordering a steak at a steakhouse and ordered an eastern shore feast consisting of lobster tail, ribs and a soft shell. I also broke the rule of ordering a soft shell when they weren't locally available. The soft shell was not good and tasted like a paper shell. The ribs and loster tail were good, but both our side orders of mashed and veggies came out cold. Both meals were okay, but not blown away. I will get a steak next time. Of all the new slightly upscale places I've been lately, the Plantation House was my best experience for a nice, sit down full meal.






Wed, 05/02/2007 - 13:07
#4
mink66
Sunburnt
Ocean Pines, MD
Joined: 06/13/2006
Sand Dollars: 486
User offline. Last seen 4 weeks 3 days ago.

I've eaten at the Plantation House about 3 or 4 times now and really liked the food and drinks as well. It's a great restaurant in my opinion except for the acoustics in this place. If there are more than 4 or 5 tables occupied, the way everyone's voices resonate off the high ceilings reminds me of being in a crowded high school cafeteria. They really need to get some sound absorbing panels mounted along the walls and ceiling. And then the noise level snowballs out of control as you have to start speaking louder to have others at your table hear you and so does everyone else in the restaurant.:eek: :eek: :eek:

Terrapin,

Have you tried Sunset Grill or Micky Fins?






Sun, 05/06/2007 - 14:30
#5
OCtheBeach.com
OCtheBeach.com's picture
Sunburnt
Ocean City and Baltimore
Joined: 07/30/2006
Sand Dollars: 186
User offline. Last seen 4 weeks 6 days ago.

mink66;22776 wrote:
I've eaten at the Plantation House about 3 or 4 times now and really liked the food and drinks as well. It's a great restaurant in my opinion except for the acoustics in this place. If there are more than 4 or 5 tables occupied, the way everyone's voices resonate off the high ceilings reminds me of being in a crowded high school cafeteria. They really need to get some sound absorbing panels mounted along the walls and ceiling. And then the noise level snowballs out of control as you have to start speaking louder to have others at your table hear you and so does everyone else in the restaurant.:eek: :eek: :eek: ...

WOW! I could write almost EXACTLY the same descripton about Castaways on the Bay at 64th Street. When we go out to dinner with friends we like to enjoy a pleasant conversation during our meal. On two occasions we were not able to do that at Castaways. Even though the food and drinks were great, there will not be a third time. :confused:






Sun, 05/06/2007 - 20:23
#6
mink66
Sunburnt
Ocean Pines, MD
Joined: 06/13/2006
Sand Dollars: 486
User offline. Last seen 4 weeks 3 days ago.

OCtheBeach.com;22796 wrote:
WOW! I could write almost EXACTLY the same descripton about Castaways on the Bay at 64th Street. When we go out to dinner with friends we like to enjoy a pleasant conversation during our meal. On two occasions we were not able to do that at Castaways. Even though the food and drinks were great, there will not be a third time. :confused:

My only experience at Castaway's was out on their giant outside deck. I have to agree that food and drinks were great. Unfortunately, their deck extends out over a some what swampy area of the bay and because of that the dining experience was a little "buggy."






Mon, 05/07/2007 - 13:04
#7
Beth'sOC
Beach Bum
Ocean City, MD
Joined: 07/19/2006
Sand Dollars: 148
User offline. Last seen 2 years 23 weeks ago.

I have only eaten at Castaway's once. The food was bland and tasted like it had been frozen at some point. Was not worth the $60 we paid for dinner. But it was off-season...nope still no excuse. Oh well! :)






Wed, 05/09/2007 - 11:41
#8
terrapin05
Beach Bum
Joined: 06/17/2005
Sand Dollars: 175
User offline. Last seen 3 days 2 hours ago.

I have not tried Micky Fins, and have only eaten at the outside Teaser's deck bar at Sunset Grille. Food at Teaser's is good, but beware the fish sandwich is a slightly smaller portion served on a dinner style roll and not a full sandwich. I could have eaten at least two of 'em.