Are Boardwalk Burgers Authentic Ocean City Fare?

Boardwalk Fresh Burger and Fries, which just opened this Wednesday in Springfield, claims to serve authentic Ocean City, Md. fare. To test this claim out, we brought in Patch freelancer Brian Shane, who covered Ocean City as a reporter for the Daily Times for more than three years, and also covered Salisbury next door for a year as well.

We can only assume a man who knows Ocean City inside and out can tell us a few things about good beach-y food. We took him over to Boardwalk Fresh to get his opinion.

His first impression was based on the scent and atmosphere of the joint, which is part of a new branch off the 30-year-old Boardwalk Fries.

"They got the fries down,” Shane said. “Walking into the restaurant - it definitely smells like walking up to a Boardwalk fries on a boardwalk. I appreciate that they're tying it back to Ocean City.”

Boardwalk Fries started in Columbia, Md, near where Shane grew up. Shane commented that it reminds him of the Columbia Mall food court.

Shane also noted the family business style of Boardwalk, such as how marketing manager Rose is also the daughter of Boardwalk Fries co-founder Fran DiFerdinando.

"That's the most 'OC' thing about it - that it's a family business,” Shane said. “The whole town is built on family businesses supporting the tourists, going back over a hundred years.”

Shane said that the Ocean City burger joint place he could most easily compare to the store would be the Alaska Stand, which has been serving food for almost 80 years. "That's the closest we have to local burgers on the Boardwalk," Shane said.

Shane’s verdict was that the chain was, “More Five Guys than Ocean City,” pointing out the similar set up of the restaurant, though with an opposite color scheme (blue to Five Guys’ red), down to the similar white paper bags for food.

“Not that it's bad, it's delicious,” Shane said, though he thought the buns were “a little much.” “These burgers are better than the boardwalk burgers in Ocean City.”

Shane said the summer heat and the smell of sunscreen on fellow customers contributed to the Ocean City-style atmosphere.

"All you need is lots of secondhand smoke," Shane cracked, proving that perhaps pure Ocean City authenticity maybe isn't the way to go. (Smoking is generally banned in Virginia restaurants and eateries per legislation signed in 2009 by then Governor Tim Kaine, excepting a few special cases)

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries is located at 6230T Rolling Road Springfield, VA, 22152.