An Eater's Guide to the Ocean City Boardwalk

Snack food is available in abundance on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Some of these tastes have been a sensation for a century, some for a decade or less. Here are five traditional tastes and five newer ones to sample this season.

TRADITIONAL TASTES

1. Kohr Bros Frozen Custard

 There are five  locations on the Ocean City Boardwalk, which proves you just can’t get enough of a good thing. Two years after Archie Kohr, a schoolteacher from York, Pa., purchased a gasoline-powered ice cream machine with the intention of expanding the family’s dairy farm business, Kohr Bros – consisting of Archie and siblings Elton and Lester – debuted their frozen dessert at Coney Island in 1919. They sold 18,000 cones of their frozen custard, which is lower in fat and sugar than ice cream, in two days. In 1927, another brother, Morgan, joined the family business. Kohr Bros has since expanded to seven states along the East Coast.

Kohr Bros frozen custard, which uses eggs in its recipe to prevent it from melting too quickly in the salt air at the shore, was first sold in Atlantic City in 1925. Currently, with a third generation of owners at the helm, the five seasonal Ocean City locations are at Wonderland Pier at Sixth Street, 664 Boardwalk, Moorlyn Terrace at 820 Boardwalk, 986 Boardwalk and 1140 Boardwalk.

2. Johnson’s Popcorn

Since 1940,  has been tossing hot caramel with popcorn in large copper kettles. The work is physical, but clearly addictive as it seems Johnson’s has almost as many loyal employees returning annually as it does customers.

You can save a buck (roughly) if you bring your empty plastic container to be refilled. If you don’t want the lid secured on your bucket, you’ll get an extra scoop. Remember to keep your popcorn out of sight from swooping sea gulls with good taste!

Johnson’s has three locations on the Boardwalk -- 660, 828 and 1360 Boardwalk. Last year, the company added a clothing and accessory store next to its only year-round location on the 1300 block of the Boardwalk.

3. Mack & Manco Pizza

The lines always seem longest at  pizza restaurants. The original – and only year-round – location at 920 Boardwalk opened in 1956. A few years later, Anthony Mack and Vincent Manco added another store at 758 Boardwalk. The third, at 12th Street and Boardwalk, was opened by Vincent Manco’s son Frank and his wife, Kay, in the 1980s.

Despite the proliferation of pizzerias on the Ocean City Boardwalk, people seem to flock to M&M in the greatest numbers. To many fans, M&M’s thin, crispy pizza is the ultimate in shore dining and a slice is their top priority when they arrive in town. True story: This spring, a friend came home from North Dakota for the first time in five years. She lunched at M&M three times in the 10 days she was here.

4. Shriver’s, Steel’s, Fralinger’s and company

You eat pizza and frozen custard while you’re on the Boardwalk. You take salt water taffy and fudge home with you. The granddaddies of these confections are ,  and . Newer arrivals in the field are , which dates to 1926 and this year added a second Boardwalk location at 932 Boardwalk, and the  at 800 Boardwalk, started by brothers Joe and Paul Bogle in 1972.

Shriver’s is the oldest business on Ocean City’s Boardwalk. Opened in 1898 by William Shriver, the store was sold in 1959 to four brothers whose descendants continue to run the combination candy factory and retail store at the corner of Ninth Street and the Boardwalk.

Joseph Fralinger opened the first taffy concession on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in 1885. An Ocean City location exists today at 1100 Boardwalk. Elizabeth Steel opened the first Steel’s Fudge in 1919 in Atlantic City. Ocean City locations exist today at 816 and 1000 Boardwalk.

5. Brown’s and Oves

In the morning, the longest line on the Boardwalk is at St. Charles Place for  doughnuts. Started in 1976 by Pennsylvania schoolteachers Marjorie and Harmon Brown, Brown’s continues to make six different types of doughnuts and serve them hot from the fryers. Oves Beach Grill at Fourth Street and the Boardwalk, which dates to 1968, boasts the best apple cider doughnuts in addition to five other flavors.

NEWER TASTES
 

1. Monkey Bread

After 10 years, Monkey Bread creator Mary Bromhead sold her business at 972 Boardwalk to Laura Idell, a four-year employee who recently graduated from Rowan University. Idell has added flavors such as banana, chocolate and coconut to the gooey, cinnamon sugar-coated, pull-apart pastry. This is the kind of sinful treat that should be shared so as not to give yourself sugar shock.

2. Crazy Susan’s Cookies

Susan Adair started selling her cookies in a spot carved out of the front of Shore Things at 980 Boardwalk in 2008 (and out of a West Avenue store in 2006). She started telling the story of her business on July 11 on the Food Network show “Tough Cookies.” Can’t decide which flavor cookie to try? Choose the one Rachael Ray featured as the Snack of the Day on her ABC-TV television show: A cashew chocolate chip cookie topped with caramel and milk chocolate known as the Crazy Turtle. Or opt for one of  newer flavor sensations: S’mores or banana split sundae.

3. Ocean City Coffee Company

Coffee spots are cropping up on the Boardwalk this year, but none can match the scope of the operation at  at 928 Boardwalk. Established in 2003, this business roasts the beans on the premises that are used in making its 110 different coffee blends and flavors.

4. Hula Grill

Tucked away from the bustle of the Boardwalk, on Colony Walk between Ninth and 10th streets, is opened as a casual plate-lunch place by Dave Rihl in 2000, Hula has since expanded its space to include indoor dining and its offerings to include bottled sauces. You can depend on good food at reasonable prices.

5. Very cool stuff

 at 844 Boardwalk is among the newest spots serving cold treats on hot days. Gelato, which means ice cream in Italian, contains fewer calories and less fat and air than ice cream, so it is denser in consistency and smoother in texture. , which started in 1984 in Bensalem, Pa., has grown to 550 franchises in 18 states, with two in Ocean City at 900 and 1348 Boardwalk. Thomas B. Curyto Sr., an aeronautical engineer, developed the recipe for TLC’s Polish Water Ice in the early 1990s, and with his wife, Lynne, decided to introduce it to a wider audience with its first location on the Boardwalk in 1997. Today there are stores at 830 and 1068 Boardwalk.