New Scaratings

My wife and I just finished a three-day beach visit to Rehoboth Beach. The water was beautiful, the temperatures were overall pleasant, and the beach shopping was a touch more upscale than that one would find in Ocean City, Virginia Beach, or the Outer Banks. There was also a strip of outlet malls two miles inland with tax-free shopping. We chose to stay at the Atlantis Inn, about two blocks away from the water on Rehoboth Avenue, the primary east-west street.

The Buzztime site finder shows five different sites within walking distance of the beach hotels. Two of them, however, are misplaced. The Grotto Pizza in Rehoboth Beach does not have Buzztime. The Grotto Pizza in Dewey Beach, two miles south, appears to have had Buzztime, but we didn't take the four mile round-trip walk. The Buffalo Wild Wings shown as adjacent to the Boardwalk on the site finder map is really two miles inland at the outlet mall area. We didn't choose to play there, but it's perfectly situated for somebody to play there while their partner did some outlet shopping.

The Mexican restaurant Dos Locos was, by far, the best place to play. The Mexican-themed seafood dishes were simply amazing, as well as being reasonably priced. Michelle had lobster every day. Her favorite was the lobster stack, a molded pile of a little tomato, a little avocado, and about eight to twelve ounces of clear lobster tail meat, seasoned lightly with Old Bay and cilantro. The lobster enchilada had four lobster claws and a couple of ounces of tail meat along with the standard Mexican cheese sauce (homemade, not the standard queso). I had the calamari sticks and avocado/shrimp tacos. There's an extensive selection of fine tequilas, too: Michelle enjoyed many different margaritas and a few shots, and I had a shot of Patron Platinum my last visit. The managers really support Buzztime; I would encourage any serious player to drop by.

The Rehoboth Ale House is an LGBT-friendly bar with a well-used dance floor. Although the staff appeared to all be gay or lesbian, over half of the crowd was straight, and I didn't feel out of place. The bartender on my first visit wouldn't let me multibox, but that was, apparently, a one-time thing. I returned twice more and put five boxes in play both of those last visits. The draft beer was terrible, and I didn't dare try the food given the average-at-best cleanliness. The bottled beer was cold, and they offer a domestic bottle with a chilled Jager shot for five dollars all day every day. The happy hour specials looked outstanding, too. I'd come back if there weren't a live band; I'd avoid the site for Buzztime if there were a band.

Zogg's was a really nice beach bar, just off the water, with an eclectic menu. I tried the happy hour raw cherrystones, and I was satisfied. The rum selection is superb, and my wife liked the mix of high-quality rum and ginger beer. The trouble with Zogg's is that only one TV is used for Buzztime, the sight line is awkward because the best seat for Buzztime has a pay-to-play game parked atop the bar in front of it, and if anybody is already watching that TV they won't change the channel if you come in for Buzztime. Toss in the frustration of their closing an hour early, and I won't be back to Zogg's. It does have its strengths; be advised of the challenges if you visit.