Beach Eats: Liquid Assets

By Erin and Xani

As Xani mentioned in her last post, last week/weekend, the BCD family spent some time on the Delaware shore for a little R&R (and plenty of SUNSHINE - Mom and Dad are currently a different race than us). Of course, part of vacationing is eating well, and that we did. Xani had heard about a restaurant called Liquid Assets in Ocean City, MD from her colleague, Josh, so we made the trek to OC to check it out.

Liquid Assets is both a liquor store and a restaurant - sounds classy, huh? Well actually, the dining area is separated and very comfortable, and pretty upscale (especially for Ocean City, infamous site of both of our Senior Weeks...not so classy! The hotel Xani stayed in for Senior Week caught fire one of the nights she was there. 'Nuff said.).

Anyway, we began the meal with cocktails. Erin got a Georgia Peach Martini (Absolut Peach, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple and Orange juice with a touch of grenadine), Xani got a Dirty Goose (Grey Goose and Olive Juice), Dad got a regular martini, and Mom got some wine.

Xani's Dirty Martini (minus the dirty - we had to send it back to get some...dirt)

Erin's Georgia Peach Martini

Then we got two appetizers: the calamari and "The Antipasto Board." The calamari was great - it was crispy and light, and was served with a chipotle horseradish dipping sauce.

The star of the show (not just the appetizer show, the WHOLE show), was the Antipasto Board. It was MAGNIFICENT. There was an incredible array of delicious things on that board: marinated fresh roasted peppers, seasonal salads, aged serrano ham, marinated anchovies, spanish chorizo, caper berries, cheese, roasted garlic, roasted cipollini onions, and toasted bread. OMG!

Caper Berries are the new olives?

One other thing that was interesting about this dish was that the board it was served on was a plank from a wine carton - cute!

Then it was on to the main dishes. Xani got the Deluxe Grilled Cheese, with cheese, bacon, arugula, and pane dolce. There were mixed reviews of this dish: some of us liked it, but Xani thought there was too much going on in the sandwich for it to really be grilled cheese. Give her two slices of melted American on white bread any day!

Erin got the Open Face, Slow Braised Carolina Pork BBQ, served with chipotle coleslaw and hand-cut fries. This dish was a hit! The pork was sweet and spicy and served hot, with the delicious chipotle coleslaw served very cold on top. Very nice dichotomy there. It was all served on top of toasted bread, with a side of hand cut french fries. The fries were okay - good but not amazing.

Dad got the Seared Ahi Tuna, served sesame-encrusted, with fingerling potatoes, roasted asparagus, and tomato jam. The tuna was served raw (as it should be) and the potatoes and salad served with it were great.

And finally, Mom got the Old Bay Rubbed Chicken Breast, which was served with red potatoes and a wild mushroom cream sauce. This dish was also very good and flavorful. The mushroom cream sauce was very intense and the chicken was cooked perfectly. The potatoes were kind of boring, but the sauce made up for them.

Now, apparently cheese is a big thing at Liquid Assets, and they had an entire cheese menu! Unfortunately, when it came time for dessert, a cheese plate just didn't feel right. We'll get cheese next time though!

We did end up getting two (sweet) desserts to share. The first was called L.A. Sorbet, which was a scoop of raspberry sorbet and a scoop of blood orange sorbet. These were delicious and refreshing. We also got the Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich. This was sort of like what Erin had at Diddy Riese in LA: two cookies with vanilla ice cream in between - YUM!

We also, of course, got coffee - what fancy meal would be complete without coffee at the end?

All in all, it was a delicious meal (in a sort of unlikely location), with great service and good decor, and we're so glad we ate there! We recommend it if you're looking for somewhere upscale in Ocean City with interesting, delicious food.

Happy eating,

E & X