By Camryn Schultheis
Pizza, fries, funnel cake and ice cream are all crowd favorites and plentiful on the Ocean City Boardwalk, but over the past couple of years, the food options have expanded tremendously.
It is now home to businesses that provide Mexican, Korean, BBQ and Hawaiian options.
Taqueria Rendon is a Mexican restaurant located at 1138 Boardwalk.
“We had opened the business in Northfield, and I had been there for a few seasons. Then, in the winter, I saw an opportunity to get this place on the Boardwalk,” said Marco Rendon, owner of Taqueria Rendon.
It fell into Rendon’s lap. After seeing a spot for rent while visiting the arcade with his family, he knew he had to take it.
“You rarely see that on the boardwalk. The spaces are usually always taken,” he said.
Some of Taqueria Rendon’s best sellers include birria tacos with consommé and Mexican street corn, which is an ear of corn with Mexican mayo and queso cotija, with a hint of lime, and Tajín.
When craving a flavorful BBQ meal, Buddy Loves BBQ, located at 728 Boardwalk, is the place to go.
“Cooking has always been a big part of my life. I have also worked in the restaurant business for all of my life. I really started cooking on large scales in the church. That was a part of my ministry in the church,” said John Love, owner of Buddy Loves BBQ. “After that, I kind of just expanded on what I already knew.”
Love said he has a book from the late 1800s filled with his great-grandfather’s recipes that he took and built upon for his business with the help of his kids and grandkids.
“Even though his BBQ was good, mine is better,” he said with a chuckle.
Buddy Loves BBQ offers beef brisket, pulled pork, ribs, BBQ chicken and classic hot dogs and hamburgers.
The Hula Grill, located at 940 Boardwalk, opened its doors in 2000.
The journey all began when its owner, Amy Rihl, moved to Hawaii and rented a food truck with her ex-husband.
“We took a leap, started a food truck in 1998, and continued with it until 1999,” said Rihl. “It was successful, but then our rent had expired, and funny enough, at that time, our friend had told us that there was a new spot that had opened up on the Boardwalk, so we decided to come home and open up the Hula Grill.”
“People always tell us that we offer healthy options for boardwalk goers, so that is always very nice to hear,” she said.
The Hula Grill is known for their Hawaiian chicken, salmon teriyaki, poke bowls and lobster rolls.
Crunchik’n, located at 1136 Boardwalk, opened their Korean-inspired restaurant about seven years ago.
It first started as a shack between 12th and 13th Streets, but moved to the boardwalk a couple of years ago, according to Romona, manager of Crunchik’n.
Its bestsellers include the popcorn chicken, rice bowls, grilled chicken rice bowls, crunch dogs and chicken sandwiches.
“Everywhere you go, it’s pretty much pizza, fries, and ice cream, so we really provide the boardwalk client with something very different,” said Romona.
