OCEAN CITY – Rare & Rye, located inside the La Quinta hotel on 32nd Street, is a casual, fine dining restaurant that offers patrons a variety of locally sourced food and an assortment of whiskey, bourbon and rye drinks.
Owner Sal Fasano said Rare & Rye is one of the few eateries in the surrounding area to offer an atmosphere that caters to every taste.
“In this area you have to go quite a bit of distance north or south to find something similar to it,” he said. “You have a couple of places that are strictly high-end, fine dining and a lot of other places are casual and laid back or are a part of the party scene. Even places similar to us have a different cuisine. We bring something different over here.”
Rare & Rye offers patrons several brands of whiskey, bourbon and rye, as well as flights and a variety of drink specials.
“The mainstream drinks like vodka and others are kind of going out of fashion a little bit,” Fasano said. “Whiskey, bourbon and rye, especially with the millennials, are making a very strong comeback.”
In addition to Rare & Rye’s expansive beverage menu, the restaurant and bar serves farm-to-table meals, including locally sourced meat and fish. Fasano explained that much of the restaurant’s food is grown locally and made from scratch.
Rare and Rye offers several food options, from appetizers to desserts and everything in between.
“You are going to find something for everyone on there, whether you want a nice salad, light appetizer or something big like a 20-ounce bone-in ribeye or a nice piece of fish,” Fasano said.
Fasano describes Rare & Rye’s menu as eclectic, with a mix of classic and gourmet food options.
Menu items include a crab cobb salad, whiskey-braised pork shoulder sandwich, scallops and pan seared duck breast, to name a few.
Fasano said Rare & Rye Chef Stuart Diepold brings an inventive approach to the menu and offers specials on a daily basis.
“He’s a fantastic chef,” Fasano said.
“He has a lot of experience and has worked in a couple of places here in Ocean City. He’s very good and very creative.”
From the beginning, Fasano said the focus of the restaurant has been on taste and décor.
“We are looking to build the business on that,” he said.
Customers at Rare & Rye can take in the hustle and bustle of Ocean City and views the nearby water from the bar, dining room or deck area.
“It really compliments the corner,” Fasano said. “It brings something different.”
Fasano said the space occupied by Rare & Rye sat vacant for two years before his family decided to open a restaurant in the new La Quinta.
“He’s a fantastic chef … and very creative,” said Rare & Rye owner Sal Fasano, right, of chef Stuart Diepold. Photo by Bethany Hooper
“We were focused on getting the hotel up and running first,” he said. “We discussed it as far as what we wanted to do, rather we wanted to rent it out or rather we wanted to do it ourselves. We always had that interest in diversifying the company, so we decided to do it ourselves.”
Fasano said plans to expand the family business into the restaurant industry began last fall.
With the help of a consulting and management company, Fasano said the empty space attached to the La Quinta soon became Rare & Rye.
“Restaurants are part of the hospitality industry here,” he said. “When you are in a tourist town like this it’s hotels and restaurants. It’s giving people a place to sleep and feeding them and showing them a good time. It’s kind of a natural progression.”
Rare & Rye is officially open for business and will have its grand opening celebration on June 7.
The restaurant is open seven days a week from 5 p.m. until closing. Lunch will be served starting July 1.
For more information, call 410-213-RARE (7273) or visit rareandrye.com.
