OCEAN CITY – Among the numerous north Ocean City restaurant scene changes for this season is a Tex Mex restaurant aimed at blending some of the favorites from the former Crabcake Seafood Factory with a new fare.
Owner Johnny Brooks decided last year to rebrand his seafood house location on 120th Street bayside.
“There’s a big difference between a Mexican restaurant and a Tex Mex restaurant,” said Brooks from his Fenwick Island bayside Crabcake Factory location. “I have been a restaurant owner in this town since 1993 and the climate has changed considerably over the last 25 years. Twenty years ago, people were staying for a week and we could count on getting them a few times in their week-long stay especially since breakfast and seafood are the staples of any resort town. Nowadays families are staying shorter or they are finding ways to cut out spending by cooking at rental homes or seeking lower priced alternatives for some of their meals.”
Brooks said recent vacations with his wife, Krista, in Mexico sparked a passion to bring some of the fare to his cadre of restaurants.
The blackened tuna burrito is an early house favorite at the Loca Madre.
“I’ve spent the better part of the past 10 years traveling thru Mexico, Krista and I bought a condo off the coast of Cancun about eight years ago and its just something we’ve always wanted to bring back to the sandy shores of Ocean City,” said Brooks, who lives in Ocean Pines with his wife and four daughters.
Co-owner Krista Brooks added, “There’s nothing like fresh Tex Mex in the world, it’s like the best of both worlds. From a chef’s view, I knew Johnny was always curious about the southwest style of cooking and he’s been wanting to open a fusion restaurant since we met. It’s exciting for us to take something we know very well and mix it with traditional recipes from Texas and South America.”
Crabcake Factory’s Loca Madre is made to be different, offering traditional dishes made fresh every day while ramping it up for the summer crowds in Ocean City.
“Anyone can go to the Mexican joint at your local strip mall and pretty much get the same thing,” said Brooks. “Loca Madre is about breaking the traditional norms and conceptions of what Tex Mex is and adding a unique Eastern Shore flair.”
Loca Madre features a slew of popular Crabcake Factory favorites including the world famous crab cakes, crab dip, homemade soups, local fresh fish, Texas baby back ribs and pulled pork. These menu items team with a host of new Tex Mex dishes, including some early guest favorites, the lumb crab chimichanga and the blackened tuna burrito.
The lump crab chimichanga is pictured.
Crabcake Factory’s Loca Madre is now open seven days with limited hours until Memorial Day weekend.
Fiesta Friday kicks off Cinco De Mayo weekend starting at 4 p.m. with a special bar menu and specials with live music. A Cinco De Mayo Grand Opening Party will be held on Saturday with $1 margaritas, $2 breakfast tacos and $3 bloody marys from 10 a.m.-noon. Live music with Otto Gundman will be featured from noon-3 p.m.
Daily specials will be offered through the month of May, including Sunday’s $25 for two crabcake dinners and shared dessert and half-price nachos on Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Texas Ribs Night on Wednesdays.
“This is not your average Mexican joint,” said Crabcake Factory Marketing/Social Media Director Benny Feehley. “You say tacos, we say lobster tacos in a chipotle butter sauce, you say fajitas, we say surf and turf fajitas with mango grilled shrimp and filet mignon tips.”