Liquid Assets
Liquid Assets describes itself as a “bistro and packaged goods” destination, an accurate description which begs the question, ‘do you visit to shop and then eat, or dine and then shop upon exit?’ Most do both. Let’s start with the restaurant – it is more than a bistro, because the kitchen works hard to produce some of the best and most creative food in Ocean City, though not as rewarding as its sister restaurant, Our Harvest, located miles north in Fenwick Island. Still, its burgers have received national acclaim, and its various cheese and charcuterie board selections would receive the same attention if there was a trade association studying such offerings. Liquid Assets delivers a more than curious and pleasing menu in all respects, with standouts including salads, crispy Korean ribs, Rockefeller bread, and shrimp risotto, among other meat dishes and crab cakes, sure to please. The restaurant atmosphere is fun and quaint, with bottles of wine occupying storage carve-outs on the back faux stone wall, portending a European monastery look and feel, with tables modestly spaced to allow for some of the most efficient and pleasant service in Delmarva. All the while you’re dining, the buzz and attraction of the packaged store front is arousing your interest and curiosity, because tables and couches for lounging abound an actual wine, spirits, and beer store, which offerings surround the perimeter of the bar-style front, while laid back, soft music style lounging and drinking punctuates the bar experience. The packaged store element of LA gives you the feeling that you are at fun bar in the middle of a library that sells alcohol, while patrons come-and-go shopping one of the best bottled wine selections in Delmarva, and plenty of spirits and beer selections to render LA as much a liquor store star as the reputation its restaurant has enjoyed for many years. LA is simply a fun place, fun to eat and drink, fun to visit for socializing, fun to people watch, and fun to enjoy an energetic evening that seems to have no down time despite its strip mall style location. From the menu to the cocktails, to the sophisticated crowd that seems to always patronize the restaurant and store front, Liquid Assets is one of the safest food and drinking bets in all of Delmarva, consistently good, having navigated the test of time to remain a destination worth visiting as many times as your wallet and tolerance for an enjoyable evening will permit.
