Summer Party? Outdoors!
Ocean City
The biggest night-life destination on the Eastern Shore is even bigger this year.
The Party Block, a multi-club complex that takes up a city block at 17th Street and Coastal Highway, offers one-stop shopping for Ocean City's night-life-hungry visitors. Cover bands rock out in the cavernous Paddock Nite Club, which also hosts a $500 cash prize weekly bikini contest. Next door, DJs spin house, trance and techno music in the dimly lit Rush as smoke machines blast and lasers shoot overhead. Meanwhile, the party-friendly mix of '80s hits and hip-hop at the Big Kahuna gets crowds grooving on the patio as well as on the indoor dance floor.
On Memorial Day weekend, the Party Block is unveiling its newest component: a 6,500-square-foot outdoor area with a pool, bar, catered food menu and private cabanas.
"This really finishes off the block for us," says Robbie Rosenblit, one of the Party Block's owners. The complex gave up its parking lot to create the new pool bar, which "borrows a tremendous number of elements from South Beach clubs," Rosenblit says.
The centerpiece is a 20-by-40-foot "dipping pool" (it isn't deep enough for swimming) surrounded by a bar and rows of day beds and chaise longues. Two levels of private cabanas, filled with beds, benches, refrigerators and retractable roofs, can be reserved for the day. Bottle service is required, though it's cheap by D.C. standards: $150 gets you the cabana from noon to 8, plus a bottle of Absolut vodka or pitchers of mojitos or sangria.
Note the key phrase "for the day." The Party Block's owners say the new outdoor area will be open primarily during daylight. Folks occupying the daybeds and cabanas can order food catered by the popular Galaxy 66 Bar and Grille, and the pool's DJs will spin music that's toned down from Rush's 1 a.m. rave-ups. One of the first themed parties in the new pool area will be the "Rehab Party" on May 27, when fans of the cover band Mr. Greengenes can "recover" from the group's hugely popular Monday residency at the Paddock.
Proving that outdoor seating and tropical drinks are the order of the day, another new arrival to Ocean City is the Bamboo Restaurant and Tiki Bar, which opened in the Paradise Plaza Inn. The menu is full of pork and pineapple, but the real draw may be seats on the 77-foot deck overlooking Baltimore Avenue. Live music is offered five nights a week, and Friday is team trivia night with drink specials.
THE PARTY BLOCK 17th and Coastal Hwy. 410-289-6331 (recorded information).http://www.partyblock.com. No cover until 10.
BAMBOO RESTAURANT AND TIKI BAR Paradise Plaza Inn, Ninth Street and the Boardwalk. 410-289-6381.
source: washingtonpost.com
