Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Mack & Manco's vs. Primo Pizza, PIZZA WARS!!!!



Pat’s vs. Geno’s. Mack & Manco’s vs. Primo Pizza. One of the biggest controversies on the boardwalk: who has the better pizza? People will swear to it that Mack & Manco’s has the best pizza in the world. It’s hard to dispute the success that they have had with 3 locations on the boardwalk each with endless lines. However, nestled on 8th and the boardwalk about 30 yards away from the Music Pier is an Ocean City secret: Primo Pizza. Primo’s is often regarded as being better than Mack & Manco’s by locals and those who spend a majority of their summer in OC. So which is really better? Is Mack & Manco’s just a shoobie destination or is it really that great? Does everyone just say Primo’s is better because they are sick of Mack & Manco’s long lines?

It’s our goal at the Ocean City, NJ Restaurant and Boardwalk Blog to solve this controversy once and for all. We have tried Primo’s and Mack N Manco’s back to back and are rating each on some of pizza’s essentials: wait time, service, price, sauce, cheese, crust/dough, and grease factor. Whoever has the best of these 7 traits will be crowned best pizza on the boardwalk!



Wait Time
Right off the back, Primo’s has the advantage. We got on the boardwalk at 6th street at about 7:30 and walked all the way down to the end of the boardwalk. We get to the first Mack & Manco’s location and there’s a pretty big line outside of it. Ok, so it’s still kind of early we’ll head to the other two locations on the boardwalk….no such luck there was still a 7 minute line to just grab a slice at 9:00 at night! Personally, if I’m waiting at 9:00 at night for pizza for more than a couple minutes, this truly better be the best pizza ever. If it’s not, then I’m wasting my time.

Primo’s had no wait time. We got right in and found two seats at the counter for us. That’s not saying there was plenty of space available; we really got lucky finding the only two seats available at the counter.

Least amount of wait-time: Primo Pizza

Service
The service at both locations is very comparable. At Primo’s, they are extremely friendly to you and always smile when you come in. You’ll get your pizza right away. The same goes for Mack & Manco’s. I was surprised at how friendly the server was despite the fact that he had to work so hard with such long lines, even at 9:00 at night.

Best service: Draw

Price
Mack & Manco’s has an advantage with the best price. Their slices are only $2.25 a piece compared to Primo’s which are $2.50 a piece. Both are comparable in size. Both establishments have the same price for a pie at $17.

Best Price: Mack & Manco’s

Sauce
Now we’re getting into the real important traits of pizza: the traits of taste. We start off with sauce and we find that Mack & Manco’s has the better sauce, but it comes at a cost… Mack’s sauce is must spicier than Primo’s and seems to just have more of a kick to it. There’s much more flavor to it and compared to Primo’s. Primo’s sauce tastes like it’s missing some spices and tastes kind of bland.
However, Mack & Manco’s is too concerned with making their pizzas as quickly as possible so they can make as much money as possible. So you typically will just get a pizza that has blotches of sauces unevenly proportioned. It doesn’t make for an appetizing slice.
Still, the spice and flavor to Mack & Manco’s sauce is some of the best we’ve ever had. We’ll say it has the better of the two sauces.

Best Sauce: Mack & Manco’s

Cheese
Both cheeses are equally as good. Mack & Manco’s may be a tad bit sharper, but they’re very comparable. Primo’s cheese always stays on the slice and is very good.

Best Cheese: Draw

Crust/Dough
This is where the two pizzas go their separate ways. Primo’s by FAR has the better crust and dough. Primo’s defines thin crust pizza. The crust and dough is thin and so crunchy, yet you can still fold and shape it in whichever way you want to be able to fit it into your mouth. It is perfect and the best part of Primo’s slice.
Comparably, Mack & Manco’s has a little bit of a thicker slice. They’re dough is much softer and the crust actually seems a little bit undercooked. We’re assuming that, again, they’re just trying to get these pizzas out as quickly as possible and they’ll sacrifice the pizza being completely cooked.

Best Crust/Dough: Primo Pizza

Grease Factor

Nobody likes a slice of pizza that’s overly greasy. Nobody wants to take a napkin and blot the pizza to get all the grease off. Once again, the two pizzas are further apart in this category. Primo Pizza had only a little bit of grease, while Mack & Manco’s had a lot of grease on it.
If you look to the picture of Mack’s slice to the right, you’ll see that the plate is covered in grease and the grease went through the crust to make it so soft and damp that you couldn’t hold the slice together. Mack’s had such great sauce and cheese that we were pretty bummed about how much grease it had.
However, greasy food and the boardwalk is like America and apple pie. It goes together. Maybe that’s why so many people like Mack N Manco’s, but that’s why we made this blog. We don’t like the stereotype that the boardwalk and Ocean City only has greasy food.

Least amount of Grease: Primo Pizza

When we add up the results, Primo Pizza goes 3-2-2 compared to Mack & Manco’s 2-3-2. Therefore, we crown Primo Pizza as the best pizza on the boardwalk!

We know this post won’t come without controversy. Everyone has their favorite place and we realize that a lot of this is just our own opinion. However, it kills us to see huge long lines at Mack & Manco’s when their pizza isn’t as good as Primo’s. Don’t get us wrong, Mack’s pizza is awesome, it’s some of the best we’ve ever had, but it’s not worth it to wait in line for it. So we implore you to please try them both and decide for yourself!


To be fair: we asked for a guest opinion. We asked our friend Jon to give his opinion on what he thinks is best and we think he gives a good review of why some people may like Mack & Manco’s so much.
“For pure nostalgia, you have to love Mack and Manco's. But this is a food grading blog, so M/M's doesn't score too favorably. Their slices have become slimmer throughout the years and the sauce hasn't been used as much as I'd like. But who can blame them; I would try to make as much money as possible too. Primo's is ok; for the money it is a decent slice of pizza yet there just is something missing. There's never a long line because...well it's Primo's and that may be saying something. If the slices were thicker I'd personally enjoy it a lot more. BTW - make sure you get a birch beer with either slice.

Mack and Manco's and childhood memories: B

Primo's and no waiting for food: B-“

Once again, make the decision for yourself! Try them both and let us know what you think!


UPDATE:
Just from some of the comments we have received from people and the more we think about it, we think we kind of forget the fact that most people don't spend the entire summer in OC like we do, so we forget that this is a vacation destination that people rarely get to go to. With that said, we realize that people may like Mack & Manco's based on the tradition of coming down every summer and eating it along with the fact that people will get "cravings" for it in the winter. Well, this mindset and tradition is exactly what we are trying to break. Is it actually Mack's pizza that you're missing or is it just summer and the shore that you're missing? That is why we BEG you to try Primo's pizza! It is excellent. Sure, the tradition isn't there, but try something new for a change and save yourself some time by avoiding long lines for a pizza that a lot of people say isn't as good. So don't say that Mack's is the best without trying Primo's first!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Dot's Pastry Shop



So we want to find the "hidden gems" that OC has to offer. Well, Dot's Pastry Shop on 31st and Asbury isn't exactly hidden (Lauren and John have gone to it for years), but it really is a gem.

When John was little, his Dad would wake up every Sunday morning and get him and his sister donuts from Dot's. Lauren's grandparents would do the same for her and her sister. It made staying in Ocean City all the more special.


Now we finally had the chance to rate it and compare it to other donut places we've reviewed on this site and we have to say that Dot's is still really, really awesome. We picked some up on our way to the beach and ate them on the beach. They're famous for their glazed pretzel donuts and their cream donuts, which we both sampled. They're probably the best donuts we have ever had. They're not cake donuts, but delicious and perfectly crafted pastry that oozes with flavor and melts in your mouth. At 85 cents a piece, it's the cheapest breakfast you'll find on the island. Get there early, because their will probably be a line because Dot's rules.


John ate: Glazed Pretzel Donut, White Cream Donut, A

"I know I want to give a place an A rating when after I eat it I think about how awesome it was. A lot of times, I'll think it over and realize that place is probably more or less worth an A- or a B+ because I want to save the A's and A+'s for the best ever. Well, Dot's are the best donuts I've ever had. They're perfect size packed with amazing flavor. The cream donut has the sweetest and most delicious cream that I can imagine. The pretzel donut is awesome in it's own right just because it's a donut shaped like a pretzel. I highly recommend going to Dot's, it's just not a summer in Ocean City without them."


Lauren ate: Glazed Pretzel Donut, Chocolate Donut, A


"I always remembered Dot's being really good when my grandparents would have them for me hot and fresh first thing in the morning when I was younger. Even though John and I didn't exactly go first thing in the morning, I was still impressed with Dot's. The glazed pretzel donut was just as good as I rememeber it being for reasons that I can't describe. Just trust me, it's worth the 85 cents to get one of these. I also ate a chocolate frosted donut which was one of the best chocolate frosted donuts I've ever had. The frosting was really really chocolatey and sweet, which I don't usually get when I eat a chocolate frosted donut, sometimes the chocolate is just mediocre. Not this time! I would highly recommend Dot's to anyone looking for some really tasty dounts. I even told my boss that he must try it! There must be a reason it was so crowded in there! Everyone agrees, Dot's is great."

PS: Thanks to our families for turning us on to it throughout all these years!!

PSS: Happy Night in Venice!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Gregory's Restaurant & Bar, Somers Point

One of things on top of our "to do" list was Gregory's Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point. We can only guess that some people are thinking, "I thought this was an Ocean City blog, why are they reviewing places that are in Somers Point?" From the start of this blog, we had the idea that it would be all places in Ocean City and a few places directly over the 34th Street and 9th Street bridge or not too far from them. No matter what, you're going to have to pass some of these places to get onto the Garden State Parkway, so we figured that if you're going to drive right by them, we might as well review them. Also, for those of you who don't know, Ocean City is a dry town and there are a number of bars nearby in Somers Point that a lot of OC people go to, so we figured Somers Point places deserve to be reviewed.

But we digress, Gregory's was at the top of our list because we love going to the bar there. It's one of our go-to destinations when we go out with friends. It's great times with great people, plus they make the world's best Malibu Bay Breeze (Lauren's favorite cocktail). For all the times we went there, we had never eaten in the restaurant.

We both thought it was very nice inside and had a great ambiance. It had a very old school seashore feel to it. Also, they had real menu's, glasses that weren't plastic Coke glasses, real waiters, and a real bread basket, not some plastic basket. If you have read our previous posts, we will know that these things are a big deal. It is a rarity at Ocean City restaurants to have real glasses, real menus, etc. and it actually made our dining experience much better.

They have a menu consisting of bar food to nice seafood dinners. We both started off with a soup called the Fisherman's Stew which was a form of Manhattan Clam Chowder only with different types of fish in it. We both enjoyed it. It had a number vegetables and the different fish gave it a variety of different flavors. If you're looking for a solid meal or a bar to get a couple of drinks, Gregory's is a great place for you to go.

John ate: Crab Imperial, B "I enjoyed Gregory's and thought it was a pretty good meal. The crab imperial was very good. It had a nice creamy and warm taste and had large chunks of crab meat, which I like. I got it with mashed potatoes, which were too buttery, and french fries. Gregory's has GREAT french fries. It's one of my favorite things to munch on at the bar. One of the complaints I had was that the prices were a tad bit steep. The fried shrimp was about $17 which was reasonable but my meal was $24.99, and I know you can get the same meal down the street from a higher rated restaurant for a little bit cheaper. To be fair, a lot of their entrees such as Filet Mignon and Dungeness crab were also $24.99, which is cheaper than the restaurant down the road."



Lauren ate: Golden Fried Shrimp, B
"Gregory's was such a nice atmosphere and has a nice menu to choose from. The soup of the day was different but surprisingly, not too bad! It was a mix of a bunch of seafood with some spices. I was worried, but it was quite tasty. I got the Golden Fried Shrimp and was not disappointed. It was very good and came out smoking hot! The sides could have used some work. The mashed potatoes were kind of bad, but the applesauce was good. Overall, I was pleased with Gregory's food just as I am with their Malibu Bay Breezes at the bar!"

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Scoop Box

So we decided to make this blog for 3 reasons: 1. it would be an excuse to go on dates and try new things, 2. most restaurants and food in Ocean City on the island really do suck, so we do want to find the best places to eat, whether its just salt water taffy or a full 3 course meal, and 3. it's fun. In regards to number 2, Ocean City seems to have a lot of places that serve good breakfasts, but not a lot of places that serve good dinners. It probably has something to do with it being a dry town (not many people like to have a cocktail while at breakfast), but we still want to try and rate EVERYTHING that OC has to offer, so some of you may be sick of us getting pancakes and breakfast, but hey cool out we're amateurs just having some fun. We barely go enough money as it is and breakfast is cheaper and we have limited time because of work, so we're doing what we can. We're trying to get new things and try new places that people haven't heard of before, so we're just trying to make this the best blog we can.



With that said, we took some time out of our busy schedules to get some quick ice cream last week. We went to the Scoop Box on 34th Street next to the 34th Street Market. It's part of the "new wave" of ice cream places on the middle of the island after the Dairy Queen and another-sellout-ice-cream-place-to-be-reviewed-later closed up. It wasn't bad, we both enjoyed it. They have a lot of different flavors I've never heard of before such as Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and M&M's Vanilla Fudge. They served a lot of stuff from soft-serve to smoothies to an imitation Dairy Queen blizzard called the Razzle. They had a lot of seating outside which was nice and the prices were pretty cheap.

Still, it was just average and nothing to write home about. When you're looking for the best, you're sometimes going to find the average, so we're sorry if we think it was bland.

John ate: Sundae with M&M's Vanilla Fudge size small, C+

"So Lauren and I are trying to take the advice of others and try to get some signature items (even though we have done that in the past, see donuts, crab cakes, soup, and pizza, I mean we're not gonna go to a pizza place and try a hoagie for crying out loud), so instead of just getting a small ice cream I got an ice cream. It wasn't bad, but nothing outstanding. It was a good size for a small, but the whipped cream was a little bland. The M&M's Vanilla Fudge wasn't as good as I hoped, but it was still sweeter and a little different than your typical vanilla. Very good prices though."


Lauren ate: Razzle with Peaut Butter Cups, B-


"I tried to figure out what the signature item from an ice cream parlor would be. So, I decided to get something with ice cream in it. It seemed like the Razzle was a big deal. It’s basically like a Dairy Queen Blizzard. I chose vanilla ice cream and Reese’s peanut butter cups (crushed, obviously) after the young man working suggested I get the Resse’s cups. I ordered the smaller of the two sizes which was still huge!! It was pretty tasty, though. I do love Resse’s cups and it tasted pretty good with vanilla ice cream. However, it was just too big. Even though I tried to get something off the menu that wasn’t boring, it still ended up being pretty average.


BTW, EVERYONE BECOME A FAN OF US ON FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Ocean-City-NJ-Restaurant-and-Boardwalk-Blog/122999537745505?ref=ts

Monday, July 5, 2010

Pure Tacos

Preface: As mentioned in the previous post, John went to Villanova University, the finest academic institution in the entire world. While at Villanova, John was introduced to the awe-inspiring burritos of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Chipotle: God's gift of the burrito to the world, also the second religion next to Catholicism at Villanova. If only they had something quite like it on the Ocean City boardwalk......


Review: As mentioned in the above preface, John has an obsession with Chipotle. So, when he saw Pure Tacos next to the Surf Mall on the OC boardwalk he knew he had to get there sooner than later. Well, we went this past week for lunch after we went to the waterpark.

Pure Tacos sort of has the same look as Chipotle, it has a red facade and the sign kind of even looks like Chipotle to where if you glanced real quickly, you'd think it was Chipotle. It just opened this past summer, and sadly, it is not Chipotle, but it's not all bad. We know one of the workers there and while we were talking to her we managed to talk to the owners. They only serve tacos and nachos (but they have breakfast tacos which we need to try). Apparently the only reason why they serve tacos is that everything they serve is gluten free and since burritos require large tortillas, they'd have to get tortillas with gluten in them because for whatever reason, you can't make large tortillas without gluten.

Anyway, since there are no burritos, it sort of is more like Baja Fresh, the tacos are similar. It's also kind of expensive as well. Two tacos are about $5-6. We also agreed that the tacos weren't bad, but something was missing.


John ate: Classic Chicken Taco, C+ "I was hoping for a new awakening for a Chipotle styled establishment on the boardwalk, but I should have known better. It wasn't bad, but something was lacking. There was like no kick to the chicken and there was no spice or flavor. It seemed like it tasted like nothing but salsa too. I didn't hate it and I can imagine it's the best taco place in Ocean City, but the lack of taste and the high price can't allow me to give this place a higher rating than a C+"

Lauren Ate: Classic Chicken Taco, B- "I never had a taco before IN MY LIFE. So, this was the first taco experience and I actually thought it was pretty decent. It seemed a little bland, like something was missing. However, I don't have much to compare to. It's on the boardwalk and it's not pizza or fries, which can be a good thing!"

Ready's Coffee Shop

Prior to kicking off our Fourth of July Festivities, we decided to have a fun-filled Ocean City day that consisted of breakfast, lunch, the beach, and Gillian's Water Wonderland water park. Neither of us had gone to the water park for a couple of years, so we figured we'd try to have some fun and go. The water park is still pretty awesome.

So the for breakfast we went to a little place called Ready's Coffee Shop. Neither of us had heard of it before, but our friend Christine was raving about it, so we decided to check it out. It is located on 6th street right off of Asbury and has a cool red neon sign which is kind of hidden by a tree, so its sort of hard to find if you're not looking for it

While we both agreed it wasn't the best breakfast place we've been to on the island, it was pretty good. It has the feeling of an old school diner from like 50 years ago which was kind of cool. Also, it was extremely cheap. Lauren got the short stack aka 2 huge pancakes for only $3.75. The entire bill including tip was about $11. Even though the prices are cheap, the service was a little slow. Maybe that was just because as they say "fresh food takes longer to cook", but the service could have been a little better. Another thing we both agreed on was they gave us like the smallest glasses for our drinks. They looked like toy glasses for a 3 year old, but even a 3 year old would get thirsty after drinking from such a small glass.



John ate: Egg White Omelet with Rye Toast, B- "Omelets were recommended to me by our friend Christine, so I figured I'd try one out. Back in my college days (a whole 2 months ago) at Villanova they used to have the best ham and cheese egg white omelets. Ready's was good, just not as good as what I got at Nova. The omelet had a nice proportion of ham and cheese, but it was cooked all right, but it just seemed a little mediocre. I felt like it could have been more fresh somehow. I was also pretty turned off by the service and the really really small glasses for drinks, but you can't beat the price. I'd definitely go again if I was looking for a cheap breakfast, maybe in the winter when more things are closed."


Lauren ate: Short Stack (2 large pancakes) and bacon, B "I was expecting a lot after it was recommended to us, but I was slightly let down. The pancakes were very tasty, the bacon was average restaurant bacon. The apple juice was so tiny! I was not impressed with the service either. I'd rather go somewhere else for breakfast, but if you're around Ready's and on a budget, it's definitely worth stopping in."

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy Fourth of July!!!!


Happy Fourth of July from John and Lauren! We hope you spent your Fourth of July watching the fireworks in Ocean City, NJ, or least somewhere at the Jersey shore!