In one corner of Ocean City, that would be 1st and Asbury, it's a chocolate espresso scone from Fourth on First, the old Fourth Street Cafe, if by that you mean the people who cooked the food and ran the place, as opposed to the actual place itself. Yes, the people who went out west to start a vineyard, then inexplicably returned to keep the Fourth Street spirit going. On First Street. The ones who have now spraypainted the old gray volvo station wagon (pix to come) with "Scones" and their new number. The coffee was the reliably unsurpassed La Colombe, the African blend.
And...in the other corner, the old lovely comfy spot at 4th and Atlantic, it's Positively Fourth Street, positively spruced up with new paint and chairs and nice art on the walls, a weird headless surfer mannequin dude whose surfboard holds the half and half. This coffee bar and lunch spot is now run by the people who own the building at 4th and Atlantic, but never ran the restaurant. They were serving a pumpkin pecan scone (again, pix to come), and Harry's coffee, organic from Honduras.
Ok, so this really presents a deep and soul searching question. What gives a coffee shop its je ne sai quoi? Its ambiance, location and want to stay there for two hours feel (winner and still champ, 4th and Atlantic). Or its unbelievably crunchy on the outside, melt in your mouth on the inside mysteriously amazing scones? For this, you'll have to travel to 1st and Asbury for the authentic 4th Street Cafe touch. The scones at Positively Fourth Street were good and ambitious, but, you know, there was a clear winner.
As for the coffee, I prefer La Colombe (1st and Asbury), but Harry's, which originally was based in Ocean City, is certainly a respectable choice.
I'll let others more qualified than me rate the food (Fourth on First is serving dinner, not yet for Positively Fourth Street), the menus are both reminiscent of the old Fourth Street Cafe (chipotle chicken roasted red pepper quesadilla $6.50 at Fourth on First; pesto skirt stead with bleu cheese, $7.50 at Positively Fourth; both had chicken salad), but I'm still not sure where my allegiances will lie.
The new Fourth on First has a nice patio, but the inside's a little cramped for me, doesn't seem to lend itself to extended slacking. Can I get my coffee at 1st street, skip the scone, and just go for lunch at 4th street? The cabbage and blue cheese soup was pretty tasty the other day, though, like every soup I've ever ordered at 4th and Atlantic under old management and new, it was up to you to add the salt.