One of our favorite things about the desolate winter months is the chance to get back to dining out at our favorite restaurants without worrying about long waits. After the onslaught of holiday parties a relaxing date night is exactly what we had in mind. First stop? Fresco’s.
Fresco’s – located on 82nd Street in Ocean City – is conveniently situated along the bay, boasting stunning views. While you have to get an early start on the evening to catch a sunset dinner this time of year, the rest of the year offers spectacular sunsets from just about any seat in the house. Locally owned and operated, Fresco’s has made a name for itself over the years as one of the resort town’s only premier restaurants and for their delicious Italian meets American cuisine. For pasta, steaks and seafood, Fresco consistently delivers…so much so that Fresco’s has bragging rights to Coast Style Magazine’s Best Fine Dining, Best Chef and Best Romantic Dining.
But enough about the details, let’s get to the food. We arrived with intentions to dig into some grilled calamari for starters, but after hearing our server describe the appetizer special we simply couldn’t 
resist a last minute change in plans. The special included a generous (and we mean generous) portion of lump crab meat with slivers of prosciutto and EVOO atop toast pieces. We unabashedly devoured the entire dish.
For entrees, we went relatively simple. Anytime I see smoked salmon and capers on a menu I almost always order it as my main dish…I love it that much. The smoked salmon at Fresco’s was thinly sliced and paired with slathering of goat cheese and greens, topped with chopped onions and capers with just the right amount of olive oil. To complement the dish, I chose a side order of sauteed mushrooms, which turned out to be a massive plate of perfectly garlic-y mushrooms. The best part about date night of course is sampling your friend’s meal. Fortunately for me, my date ordered the Ravioli Al Porcini. The delicate pasta pockets are artfully stuffed with truffle and porcini mushrooms and nestled in a bed of prosciutto crudo, butter and sage sauce with a drizzling of olive oil.
Dessert? Well by this point we were simply too stuffed and opted to finish the rest of our red wine, but next time we will be sure to save a little more room for some homemade cannolis. After finishing our wine and paying the check, the food coma had officially begun to set in, bringing an end to our winter date night out at Fresco’s. For more information on Fresco’s or to check out their weekly winter specials, visit their website at www.ocfrescos.com.
