Though known to be more residential than commercial, North Ocean City has its own set of characters. While coasting on Coastal Highway, you can help but notice the ginormous sign that screams 'Blue Ox,' located on the bayside of 127th street. Hopped out the car, stepped up onto the deck and BAM!

Meet Rob, the deck bartender. With a personality as strong as his drinks, no wonder guests at the restaurant like local townie, John Sparks were singing his praises, commenting that he likes that Rob gets his drinks right and makes 'em strong. Starting out as a DeeJay at Seacrets many moons ago, Robert Sherman, if you care to know his government, now spins at private parties, and when he's not doing that, he's spinning orders and flipping bottles over buckets here at the Blue Ox.

Now as we all know, bartending is 50% skill, 50% personality, and 50% just showing-off for the hell of it, so Rob couldn't help demonstrating how he makes his "bucket" as it's called: Pretty much, hold up two bottles of liquor upside down...until you think there's enough to incapacitate, add a little bit o' this and that, and for $9 you can enjoy one of his knockout concoctions.

As I'm standing there at the bar listening to Reggae music, watching hands fly and jaws drop, Rob asks me what I'm drinking. I said to him he'd probably laugh if I told him that I like girlie drinks. His response: "Girls pick on me all the time because I like girlie drinks, but hey, liquor's quicker." I ordered my favorite. It has no name – a colloidal suspension of vodka, sprite, orange juice, with grenadine on top, poured in that order.

He decided to call it the "EJ", and as the evening wore on, the drink caught on with the wait staff, so if you ever go to the Blue Ox on 127th Street, and ask for the "EJ", Rob'll mix one right up for you. After starving myself half the day, on my feet working, I wanted to fill that void in my gut with some good eating. I thought I'd sample a couple dishes on the menu. So like a kid in a candy store, I pointed, and pointed, and pointed some more at all corners and ends of their menu.

First up was the Blue Ox Wings. I ordered them medium instead of hot, because in many altercations past, I've had to fight with wings instead of enjoying them. Now if your idea of enjoyment is super-hot wings, they have that too. Have fun... Next up, their World Famous Lobster Grilled Cheese. Okay...it's not "World Famous" yet; they haven't had people Skyping them from China and the Netherlands holding up the sandwich, but if we tell enough people about this delightful order of lobster chunks between grilled cheese, it'll quickly be on it's way there. For all the Wilbur fans out there, a good, hefty pulled pork sandwich is not far away. Finally, my all-time favorite sandwich to order at restaurants- the Crab Cake Sandwich, which you can order fried or broiled. After many months of trying crab cakes all across the coast, I've found that I like broiled better, and this sandwich did not disappoint.

As much as I've made a big deal about the bar area, it's really a great family restaurant, where in the evenings they are host to guest DJs on the deck, and sometimes hold competitions where restaurant-goers [of age] can win prizes, such as FREE BUCKETS of Rob's knockout concoctions!

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Written by Errol Webber. Photography by Errol Webber.