OCEAN CITY – Ocean City’s newest barbeque restaurant brings an Eastern Shore twist to classic barbeque dishes.
OC Barbeque, the newest restaurant to be introduced by the Sibony family, owners of the 45th Street Village, Taphouse Bar & Grille brand and properties throughout Ocean City, offers local and visitors alike a casual dining experience with panoramic views of the bay.
Zev Sibony, operator of Ocean City Barbeque, said the restaurant is the newest addition to the 45th Street Village and is just one of the many changes taking place in the area.
In recent years, the 45th Street Village has undergone a major redevelopment. A portion of longstanding buildings that once housed shops and the Sibony family’s own Assawoman Bay Brewing Company has since been demolished and in its place will soon stand a new hotel. New restaurants that were added to the property in recent years include the 45th Street Taphouse and OC Steamers, which has since been transformed into OC Barbeque.
Sibony said the recent changes gave him an opportunity to replace the Taphouse’s sister restaurant OC Steamers with OC Barbeque and to incorporate the brewery’s menu at the new eatery.
“Plain and simple we were kind of tired of crabs,” he said. “There were too many people in Ocean City that do them and knew the right people to make it worthwhile for them and, quite frankly, we don’t. We know beer. We know smoked food. So we wanted to move that menu over there because we were so successful. So there are some tweaks to the menu, but for the most part it’s all the same as what we’ve done for the past couple of years.”
In addition to chicken, ribs, pulled pork, brisket sandwiches and more, the menu at OC Barbeque also features local flavors. For example, customers can find a blackened salmon BLT with locally sourced fried green tomatoes or a smoked crab cake sandwich, dishes Sibony said combines Eastern Shore cuisine with the restaurant’s theme.
“We wanted to kind of have your barbeque-type menu, but we added a little bit of an Ocean City twist on it,” he said.
Sibony said efforts to prepare authentic and tasty food sets the restaurant apart from other eateries in the area. For example, briskets and pulled pork cook an average of 12 hours and ribs are slow smoked.
“We take the time and we care,” he said.
Sibony added that he and Chef John Lofton also created a unique house rub used on their food.
“When you are doing smoked meat in this fashion, it’s the little things,” he said. “You’ve got to make sure that your rub is specific and the same every time. It has to have good flavors and nice balance of sweet, smoky and a little bit of spice.”
Sibony, a chef by trade, said OC Barbeque’s offerings rival similar restaurants in the area.
“Quite simply, I’d like to say that my food is better,” he said.
Although the menu is a departure from the former OC Steamers, Sibony said the views remain the same. Each seat in the restaurant, he explained, has a view of the bay.
“People come to vacation in Ocean City,” he said. “They want to feel that they are right on or over the water at all times and we provide that for them.”
Sibony credits the family’s successful businesses to dedicates employees and Director of Operations Jeff Burton.
“He’s been with us since the very beginning,” he said. “He’s helped my father Avraham and myself build three Taphouses and now OC Barbeque.”
OC Barbeque is now open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information on OC Barbeque visit https://www.oceancitybbq.com/ or call 410-524-1018.
