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In St. Michaels, Executive Chef Aaron McCloud has taken over at Sherwood's Landing at The Inn at Perry Cabin, while Chef Jason White has taken the reins at Rams Head Shore House in Stevensville.
McCloud's past is storied—in his teen years, he was a professional violinist who performed in restaurants. “My plan when I was 14 or 15 was that when I made my millions as a violinist, I would open a restaurant one day,” McCloud says. Things didn't go quite according to his plan, but he did spend his later teen years working in various aspects of a restaurant. Before coming to St. Michaels, McCloud was the chef of Northern Virginia's Vintage Restaurant Group, which owns three restaurants and a catering company.
The job offer wasn't McCloud's first experience with The Inn at Perry Cabin—he proposed to his now-wife there about a year and a half ago. “It's a very special place,” he says. “The property has so much to offer in terms of dining.” Since arriving at the restaurant in mid-May, McCloud has made changes to the lunch and pool bar menus, as well as expanding the tasting menu from five to seven courses. He's also added a seven-course vegetarian tasting menu. “We've done a lot so far, but it's going to be slow and steady,” he says.
Up in Stevensville, Rams Head Shore House welcomes Chef Jason White, who is native to the region, having grown up in the Annapolis area. His career has come full circle, as he began in the kitchen at Rams Head Tavern in 1997. He has also served at the executive chef for the Eastport Yacht Club, before returning to the Rams Head group of restaurants. Now, White focuses on creating new menu items, as well as creative daily specials. “The excitement he ings into our kitchen coupled with his creativity in the daily specials has our guests taking notice already,” says Rams Head Shore House General Manager Kathryn Singer.
Another new addition to the Eastern Shore restaurant scene is the 4 Seasons Bistro in Chester, ought by the Monte Restaurant Development Group. The company also operates Carpaccio's Tuscan Kitchen in Annapolis, a chain of Squisito Pizza and Pasta across the Chesapeake region, and the similarly named 4 Seasons Grille in Crofton. It was because of the latter that the group decided to open the restaurant in mid-June in Rainbow Plaza off Postal Road. “A ton of guests from the Eastern Shore come to the Crofton restaurant,” manager Jodi McMinn says. “An opportunity arrived, and the owners said ‘well, everyone has been begging for it, let’s do it.’” The restaurant serves American and Mediterranean cuisine, and offers happy hour from 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and all day Sunday. It’s offered only at the bar, where drinks are $1 off and appetizers are $5.99. In the future, there’s talks of having live music.
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