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We Found The Best Pizza in Ocean City
🎡 Ocean City, NJ's only weekly newsletter
Kyle Scott
August 04, 2023
The pizza blind taste test results are in.
Let’s get right to it.
In the email today:
📆 Upcoming events
😎 Sponsor: Knockaround Sunglasses
🍕 The results
🚓 3 more cars stolen
🐋 Windmill updates
🦁 Wizard of Oz rocks
🏠 Real estate update
🌊 Weather and tides
📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City
August 4
The 22nd Annual Art of Surfing
When: All day
Where: Music Pier
Description: It is a free family event featuring original art from surfing’s biggest names, live music, and a chance to meet artists from across the country.
60th Annual Boardwalk Art Show
When: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Boardwalk
Description: Art show!
Beach Concert— Stanley Jordan (Somers Point)
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: William Morrow Beach
Description: Tribute to Hendrix.
August 5
The 22nd Annual Art of Surfing
When: All day
Where: Music Pier
Description: It is a free family event featuring original art from surfing’s biggest names, live music, and a chance to meet artists from across the country.
60th Annual Boardwalk Art Show
When: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Boardwalk
Description: Art show!
Somers Point Farmers Market (Somers Point)
When: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Somers Mansion, 1000 Shore Rd.
Description: It’s a farmer’s market, folks.
Concert Under The Stars— Fleetwood Mac Tribute (Sea Isle)
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Excursion Park
Description: Free outdoor concert.
August 6
60th Annual Boardwalk Art Show
When: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Boardwalk
Description: Art show!
Stone Harbor Farmers Market (Stone Harbor)
When: 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: 95th Street and Second Ave.
Description: Farmer’s market.
August 7
Don McLean
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Music Pier
Description: 50th anniversary American Pie tour.
Somers Point Kid’s Concert Series (Somers Point)
When: 6:30 p.m.
Where: William Morrow Beach
Description: A concert for kids!
Family Fun Night — Superheroes (Sea Isle)
When: 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Excursion Park
Description: Stage show begins at 7:30 p.m.
August 8
Pamper Scamper
When: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Where: 6th Street Beach
Description: Annual baby crawling race. Registration is free and begins at 8:30 a.m. Contest begins at 9:00 a.m. Babies up to 15 months.
Funtastic Tuesdays
When: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Downtown Asbury
Description: Entertainment, face painters, balloon sculptors.
Mummers Night
When: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Boardwalk
Description: Mummers strut the Boards.
Beach Movie — Jaws (Avalon)
When: Dusk (figure around 8:30 p.m.)
Where: 30th Street Beach
Description: Movie on the beach, rain date August 9
August 9
Farmers Market
When: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Tabernacle Grounds at 6th and Asbury
Description: Farmers market.
Wacky Wednesday — Luau
When: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Where: Music Pier
Description: Luau contest.
Crafty Wednesday (Avalon)
When: 10:00 a.m.
Where: Avalon Free Public Library
Description: Join Miss Paige for a fun arts and crafts project. Kids of all ages welcome.
Movie Under The Stars — Lightyear (Sea Isle)
When: 8:30 p.m.
Where: Excursion Park
Description: Outdoor movie.
August 10
Baby Parade
When: 10:30 a.m.
Where: 6th to 12th Street on Boardwalk
Description: Full details here.
Market Days
When: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Downtown Asbury
Description: Entertainment, face painters, balloon sculptors.
LEGO Thursday (Avalon)
When: 10:00 a.m.
Where: Avalon Free Public Library
Description: Calling all LEGO fans! The library will supply the LEGOS, you supply the imagination. All ages.
Family Night
When: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Boardwalk
Description: Family-friendly entertainment on the Boardwalk.
Thrilling Thursday (Margate)
When: 6:30 p.m., movie at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Granville Ave. Beach
Description: Games followed Jaws, rain date August 11
Also note the Ocean City Library has many events for adults and kids alike on their calendar, which can be viewed here.
You can see the full list of events in all nearby Shore towns with the following links: Ocean City | Sea Isle | Margate | Avalon | Stone Harbor | Somers Point | Wildwood | Cape May | Ventnor
Other events to look forward to: Boys and Girls Fishing Tournament (August 12), Beethoven presented by OC Pops (August 13)
😎 Sponsor: Knockaround Sunglasses
Just so you know we fully endorse this one— here is my collection:
Knockaround Sunglasses are perfect for the beach, Boardwalk, and basically everything you do down the Shore. They are ultra affordable (~$30), stylish, well-made, and feature UV400 protection (the highest UV protection) built into every pair. They literally block the sun better than my $200 pair of Ray-Bans, which I now wear only rarely because Knockarounds are just better for almost every daily use.
What’s more, they have cool collaborations will also sorts of brands, including Major League Baseball, US Soccer, and even Shark Week.
You can get up to 15% off your first order by clicking here.
🍕 The Results: Blind Pizza Taste Test
Every new subscriber to Walking The Boards receives a welcome email. In the email, we ask for you to reply with your “favorite pizza in Ocean City.”
This does two things: 1) Replying signals to email providers that Walking The Boards isn’t spam, and 2) Helps us with a very scientific poll.
Each response goes directly to my inbox. The results are overwhelmingly Manco’s:
But we also receive many votes for the likes of Prep’s, Mario’s, Express, and a smattering of others from across the island.
So, we decided to put it to the test. Is Manco’s really that much better? Could people taste the difference if they didn’t know what they were eating?
We partnered with South Jersey’s only weatherman, NorEaster Nick, to do a blind taste test on the Boardwalk last month.
The results are not what you might expect. Here is the video… keep scrolling for the written results so there are no spoilers for those of you who want to watch the video first:
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The winners and their vote counts:
1) Express Pizza: 9
2) Bennie’s Bread: 6
3) Prep’s: 4
4) Mario’s: 2
5) Manco and Manco: 1
A few notes on the results, since we are all about integrity here: We have no affiliation with any of these places, and we did not set out to make Manco’s look bad. Push comes to shove, if you ask me, Manco’s is still my favorite, though I’ve been enjoying Prep’s and Express this summer.
All pizzas were purchased right before filming and placed in a standard issue pizza warmer.
Still, it was almost two hours out of the oven by the time we were done filming.
What does that do to each pie? Does it favor some more than others? Who knows!
We do know that when Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy visited Manco in 2019, owner Chuck Bangle tried to compel him to take the pizza out of the box so it didn’t get soggy— perhaps he knew how it would perform if allowed to get soggy.
INTERESTINGLY, Manco’s and Prep’s were the “freshest” since they came from the Boardwalk. The others had to be bought and driven to the Boards. And yet, two of the off-Boardwalk pizzas finished first and second.
The winner, Express Pizza is a Gardens neighborhood restaurant that is under new ownership this year. As we’ve told you before, noted pizza man Mike Fitzick has taken over their kitchen. The recipe seems to be the same as before - 90s style, corn meal crust - though just this week Fitzick introduced his famed square pie, albeit on a very limited basis (the pizza we tested was the traditional round).
Something tells me they are going to be busy tonight…
🤳 News Bits
3 More Cars Stolen 🚓
A BMW, a Kia and a GMC Jeep walk into a bar… and then they are driven away by teen vandals in the Merion Park section of Ocean City.
Late Wednesday night, three more cars were stolen - on the heels of some thefts in the Gardens area last month - in Ocean City.
The details:
Three cars were stolen between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday morning in the Merion Park section (that area behind 34th Street)
Two juveniles were arrested in Egg Harbor Township in connection with the thefts
Two of the three cars have been recovered
Police say these and earlier thefts this summer do not appear to be in connection with a car theft ring out of Newark and which targeted the Jersey Shore last summer
So far there have been 15 cars stolen in Ocean City this summer, compared to 14 last summer, 4 in 2021, 12 in 2020, and 6 in 2018 and 2019
While unsure about these most recent thefts, police say the majority of cars stolen have been left unlocked, some with the keys inside (PSA: DON’T DO THAT)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who had been vacationing in Italy(…), recently signed a package of bills that has increased penalties for auto thefts
Lock your cars.
Windmill Update 🐋
While Phil Murphy was enjoying the unencumbered view of the rolling hills of Italy, his state was getting sued by citizen groups opposed to the 98 windmills that are about to dot our horizon.
Citizen groups Protect Our Coast NJ and Defend Brigantine Beach, along with three Ocean city residents, including the owner of George’s Candies and Ice Cream on the Boardwalk, filed suit in a New Jersey court over the state’s decision to give offshore windmill manufacturer Orsted roughly $1 billion in tax credits that were supposed to go to utility customers.
Orsted and the state claim the credits are necessary so the windmills can be manufactured profitably in New Jersey, lest jobs be moved overseas.
The suit alleges the decision is unconstitutional since “laws that favor a single private party are generally unconstitutional.”
As of now, transmission lines are set to be placed under 35th Street in Ocean City this fall, with windmills being placed in the ocean next year.
News Links 🔗
FOX’s Bob Kelly had beer dumped on him and was punched (we’re glad to report he’s doing OK) at the Oar House in Sea Isle Sunday night— my old site, Crossing Broad, has details on the perpetrator, a local with real estate ties 👊
🦁 Wizard of Oz Rocks
The Ocean City Theatre Company is currently putting on Wizard of Oz at the high school on 6th Street, and it’s well worth your time.
Last summer, I was underwhelmed by a show I saw put on by the Theatre Company at the Music Pier.
So I have to admit I was skeptical when my wife bought four tickets for us and our kids to see Wizard of Oz yesterday.
But the show was excellent. It was helped by the performance of the OC Pops handling orchestra duties. The acting, effects, and music were surprisingly good. It sounded great and looked great.
It held the attention of my 7 and 4 year olds for 2.5 hours, which is about as much of an endorsement as you need. There is an intermission with plenty of snacks, too.
The show plays again on August 4, 8, 9, and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and August 10 at 2:00 p.m.
You can get tickets here.
🏠 Real Estate Update
Did you know Walking The Boards has a newsletter dedicated to Ocean City Real Estate?
If you would like to opt-in, just click the subscribe button right here:
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This is maybe the craziest chart I have ever seen:
Get the full July market report in our Shore Cribs newsletter next week here.
🌊 Weather and Tides
As always, we recommend getting up-to-date forecasts from THE GOAT of South Jersey weather, NorEaster Nick, directly on his Facebook page. You can also download his app.
Tides (9th Street):
Friday (8/4)
Low 4:41 AM
High 10:42 AM
Low 4:53 PM
High 11:02 PM
Saturday (8/5)
Low 5:30 AM
High 11:35 AM
Low 5:50 PM
High 11:53 PM
Sunday (8/6)
Low 6:19 AM
High 12:30 PM
Low 6:50 PM
Monday (8/7)
High 12:48 AM
Low 7:10 AM
High 1:27 PM
Low 7:53 PM
Tuesday (8/8)
High 1:46 AM
Low 8:03 AM
High 2:27 PM
Low 8:59 PM
Wednesday (8/9)
High 2:48 AM
Low 8:59 AM
High 3:29 PM
Low 10:05 PM
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