Guide to Good Dining | New Restaurants on the Shore
By Marie Thomas
We’ve changed things a bit for this month’s Guide to Good Dining. As always, our Readers’ Restaurant Guide lists each county’s dining hot spots, providing you with information on each location’s dining options, ambience, price range, and contact information. This monthly feature is a resource for the epicurious Shore resident, and we encourage you to send in a review of your favorite restaurant using the review form on page xx. Your review will appear in the dining section of WhatsUpMag.com, and you’ll be entered into a monthly drawing for a $50 gift certificate at a local restaurant.
Particular to this issue is a look at some of the Shore’s newer dining destinations. The dining scene is a living, breathing animal, and it’s quite a task to stay up to date with everything that the region’s culinary wizards have made available. So take a look at our list of new restaurants, some of which you’ve undoubtedly experienced already, and others that may have slipped through your radar.
A Special Thank You: To Chef Michael Rork of Michael Rork’s Town Dock Restaurant for providing the beautiful dishes on our cover and the one above. For the cover, Rork designed a chocolate mousse with ganache, dressed with strawberries. In the photo above, Rork created an herb-crusted local rockfish with basil-pesto butter, jumbo lump crab meat, baby bok choy, and sweet red peppers. Both photographs were taken by Tony Lewis, Jr.
New Restaurants on the Shore
The Eastern Shore is fast becoming one of the East Coast’s premier dining destinations, attracting “foodies” or cuisine aficionados from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and as far away as New York City and Richmond. With a legendary reputation for some of the world’s finest and freshest seafood, the Eastern Shore offers diners everything from traditional recipes passed on from previous generations, to new and exotic gourmet cuisine handcrafted by some of the nation’s finest chefs. We have compiled a list of recently opened restaurants to give you a little preview of what to expect if you go.
Photo by George Walish
Cioppino and the oyster sampler from Chestertown’s newest waterfront dining spot, Fish Whistle.
The interior of Brix Tapas Kitchen and Wine Cellar is characterized by exposed brick, wooden beams, and original artwork.
Talbot County:
Ava’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar
409 S. Talbot St., St. Michaels
(410) 745-3081
avaspizzeria.com
Cuisine: Gourmet pizzas with delectable topping options like charred pepperoni, arugula, garlic confit, caramelized onions, Gruyère cheese, and the freshest mozzarella available. Other dinner options include shrimp puttanesca, braised ribs, and a host of other unique recipes that change daily. Chef Chris Fazio came to St. Michaels after working as sous chef at Central Michel Richard in Washington, D.C., the 2008 James Beard Award Winner for Best New Restaurant.
Ambiance: The totally renovated historic building offers a warm, inviting, and intimate dining experience.
Price Range: $5-15
Spirits: An “almost full bar” that boasts a well-rounded wine list, scotch, bourbon, whiskey, lemocello, and Patrón, with both bottled and draught beers.
Thai Ki
216 E. Dover St., Easton
(410) 690-3641
thai-ki.com
Cuisine: Innovative Thai favorites, made to order, include spicy squid salad, red duck curry with jasmine rice, and Thai crab balls. Owner and head chef Andrew Evans is the former chef of The Inn at Easton.
Ambiance: A small brass Buddha presides over the open kitchen, situated a few feet from the restaurant’s eight tables, providing a bird’s-eye view of the chefs at work.
Outdoor seating is available in warmer months.
Price Range: $9–15
Spirits: Bottled beer and wine.
The Wedge
17 Goldsborough St., Easton
(410) 770-3737
Cuisine: The eclectic menu features the world’s finest cheeses, in addition to handcrafted soups, salads, and small plates. Sample menu items include pistachio-encrusted salmon with chipotle-orange glaze, a tuna martini with nori seaweed salad, and “Van Gogh” orchietta pasta with sweet peas.
Ambiance: This new urban spot is located in the heart of downtown and offers diners a relaxing atmosphere, with seating for 38 people.
Price Range: $4–18
Spirits: The wine and beer list is expertly paired with menu selections. The Wedge also makes their sodas in house and changes the selection daily.
Two If By Sea
5776 Tilghman Island Rd., Tilghman
(410) 886-2447
TwoIfBySeaCafe.com
Cuisine: Serving up breakfast, lunch, and Sunday brunch favorites that include pancakes, Belgian waffles, quiche, sandwiches, and the “Crabbie Egg,” which boasts poaches eggs, crab meat, and cream sauce on an English muffin.
Ambiance: Reminiscent of a 1950s-style luncheonette, with black-and-white checkered floors and an open kitchen.
Price Range: $2–10
Spirits: No liquor sales offered.
Easton Diner
8451 Ocean Gateway, Easton
(410) 819-0535
Cuisine: Their extensive menus offer the ultimate selection in home cooking and comfort food with a tasty, fresh salad bar. Owners Adam Delice and Koksal Karadere also own the Cambridge Diner.
Ambiance: A family-oriented restaurant with bright color schemes that match the upbeat atmosphere. The vintage vinyl booths and long lunch counter resemble a ‘50s soda fountain.
Price Range: $4–34
Spirits: Domestic and imported beer and Sutter Home wines.
Dorchester County:
Bella Luna
305 High St., Cambridge
(410) 221-0110
bellalunarestaurant.net
Cuisine: Modeled after their original Royal Oak location, everything on the restaurant menu is made in-house, from the salad dressings to the desserts. Sample menu items include made-from-scratch ravioli, sausage and sun-dried tomato in rosemary cream, and shrimp, olives, and oranges over fettuccine.
Ambiance: Funky and casual with a warm atmosphere and seating for about 75 people.
Price Range: $5–25
Spirits: Full bar with domestic and imported bottled beers, and fine Italian wines.
Jimmie & Sook’s Raw Bar & Grill
421 Race St., Cambridge
(443) 225-5127
Cuisine: A wide range of American and Island cuisine, Maryland seafood, and Southwestern cooking, as well as comfort-food favorites and other specialties, such as crab cake benedicts and smoked oyster scrambled eggs.
Ambiance: The bright, cheerful colors lend a tiki bar-like atmosphere with a splash of Eastern Shore tradition. The walls are adorned with antique waterman’s tools, such as oyster tongs and crab pots, donated by watermen from Taylor’s and Hooper Islands.
Price Range: $7–15
Spirits: A full bar offers various craft and microbrews on draught, as well as bottled beer, liquors, and house wine.
Queen Anne’s County:
Mrs. B's Family Restaurant
101 Hissey Rd., Grasonville
(410) 827-0102
Cuisine: Chesapeake Family Restaurant offers down-home comfort food with breakfast served all day. Omelets, pork chops, catfish, liver and onions, meat loaf, and mashed potatoes are favorites of locals and passersthrough alike.
Ambiance: Open 24 hours and located just off Route 50 in Grasonville, in the building once home to Chesapeake Chicken, this new restaurant offers warmhearted service that reflects its personal decor.
Price Range: $10–18
Spirits: No liquor sales offered.
Good Guys Sports Bar & Casual Italian
219 E. Water St., Centreville
(410) 758-2222
Cuisine: The restaurateurs behind successful, fine Italian favorites in Annapolis and Stevensville (Luna Blu and Rustico Restaurant & Wine Bar, respectively) have taken their authentic southern Italian cuisine and made it a bit more casual. Expect plenty of the mainstays of Italian cuisine—calamari, bruschetta, Caprese, and a variety of pasta favorites—without as much sophistication as you’d find at the group’s other locations.
Ambiance: Moving into the space vacated by Joshua’s Family Dining, Good Guys offers a decor and design equally suitable for a football game or an impromptu night out.
Price range: $8–15
Spirits: Full-service bar with extensive wine and beer lists.
Kent County:
Brix Tapas Kitchen and Wine Cellar
337 High St., Chestertown
(410) 810-2749
Cuisine: Brix stays true to tapas tradition, serving a wide variety of Mediterranean- and Latin-inspired small plates. In addition to its traditional tapas menu, Brix also offers creative salads, soups, and pizza, which share the dynamic flavor profiles that diners have come to expect from tapas.
Ambiance: With wood beams and exposed brick all around, the decor of Brix recalls a classic Mediteranean wine cellar; warmly painted floors equally contribute to a cozy setting. A European-inspired patio allows for outdoor dining during warmer months.
Price Range: $10–25
Spirits: Full bar and, as the name suggests, an extensive selection of quality wines.
The Fish Whistle
98 Cannon St., Chestertown
(410) 778-3566
Cuisine: Co-owner and chef Jeffrey Carroll has created an expansive menu that offers something for everyone. Crab cakes, pork barbeque, beef brisket, and a variety of seafood dishes stand above the other varied options, all of which are homecooked.
Ambiance: This waterfront dining spot on the Chester River has a brightly painted interior and offers a deck for outdoor dining. Diners may also dock their boats at the Chestertown Marina after coordinating with the restaurant ahead of time. Food is available in the bar until midnight.
Price range: $10–25
Spirits: Full-service bar with options in both beer and wine.
Two Tree Restaurant
401 Cypress at Sassafras, Millington
(410) 928-5887
twotreerestaurant.com
Cuisine: A diverse but manageable menu includes always-welcome dishes like crab cakes and steaks, and is accented by more unusual options like fresh seared ahi tuna, bacon-wrapped meat loaf, and the nearly forgotten regional favorite, Maryland beaten biscuits. Two Tree also offers a number of dessert options, including flan, crème brûlée, and chocolate lava. Salade Niçoise is offered only when fresh Mountaineer half-runner beans are available from the owner’s garden.
Ambiance: In quiet Millington, Two Tree offers a sophisticated and handsome interior with dark wood floors, tables, and chairs, and calming yellow walls.
Price range: $8–25
Spirits: A modestly priced wine list accompanies a short list of domestic and imported beers.
Caroline County:
Market Street Public House
200 Market St., Denton
(410) 479-4720
publichouseonline.com
Cuisine: As with any Irish pub, the house favorite here is the Public House fish and chips, which are pollock fish dipped in house-ale batter and fried. Other options range from traditional Irish favorites, like shepherd’s pie and beef and Guinness stew, to familiar American tavern fare.
Ambiance: Appropriate for family gatherings, the Public House features a long bar with a comfortable dining area. Wood flooring, a high ceiling, and a tin roof painted red provide the area an unique personality.
Price range: $8–18
Spirits: This fully appointed bar features nine beers on tap, 20 by the bottle, specialty drinks, wines by the glass, and wines by the bottle from St. Michaels Winery.
Tequila’s Bar & Grill
104 E. Central Ave., Federalsburg
(410) 754-0123
Cuisine: Specializing in seafood-based Mexican food, including the fajitas del Mar, as well as seafood quesadillas and enchiladas, Tequila’s also serves classic American staples, such as steaks, pork chops, meat loaf, and sandwiches. Loaded nachos are a favorite as an appetizer.
Ambiance: With stone walls lined with historic photos of the town of Federalsburg, Tequila’s manages the look of a Mexican cantina while maintaining a local feel. A big-screen TV, along with a bar and pine floors, plus four additional TVs at the back of the restaurant make this a suitable venue to watch the big game.
Price range: $8–22
Spirits: Full bar service that specializes in margaritas. Four beers available on tap along with sangria and a selection of house wines.
Thai Ki
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