5 Scossa Italian $$$
(%410-822-2202; 8 N Washington St; mains
$15-28; h11:30am-3pm Thu-Sun, 4-9pm Mon-
Thu, to 10pm Fri & Sat, to 8pm Sun) The Eastern
Shore is not the first place we go to for great
Northern Italian cuisine, but then along comes
Scossa. Maybe we should change our priorities.
The food is authentic, rustic, delicious and
served in a dining room with the right amount of
chic; a crispy sweetbread risotto is daring and
delightful in turn.
4 Bishop’s House
Bed & Breakfast B&B $$
(%410-820-7290, 800-223-7290; http://www.
bishopshouse.com; 214 Goldsborough Street;
$185-195; p) As B&Bs go, the Bishop’s House
is pretty luxurious. No bog-standard scratchy
sheets here; there’s 1000-thread count softness
and a decor scheme that nicely balances some
modern touches along with the historical bric-a-
brac you expect of towns like Easton. Located in
a Victorian mansion built in 1880.
4 Tidewater Inn Hotel $$$
(%410-822-1300; http://www.tidewaterinn.com;
101 East Dover Street; r from $180; pW) The
Tidewater is an excellent all-around hotel.
Located in a handsome brick building in
downtown Easton, you’ll have easy walking
access to some of the town’s seminal sights,
and the chance to sleep in rooms with modern
touches but a stately, Victorian elegance.
St Michaels 5
5 Crab Claw Seafood $$
(%410-745-2900; 304 Burns St; mains $15-30;
h11am-10pm) Next door to the maritime
museum, the Crab Claw serves up tasty
Maryland blue crabs and has splendid views
over the harbor. It’s a quintessential crab shack,
but there’s a good variety of seafood and some
landlubber fare as well (read burgers).
5 Harrison’s
Chesapeake House Seafood $$
(%410-886-2121; 21551 Chesapeake House Drive,
Tilghman Island; $15-30; h9am-10pm; c) The
venerable Harrison has had a bit of an overhaul,
going from old-school crab shack decked out
in maritime paraphernalia to...a slightly newer-
school crab shack with maritime paraphernalia.
And that’s fine! Let the Harrison be the salty-dog
seafood spot generations of seafood lovers know
and love, because sometimes you want fried
seafood, and this place does fried seafood right.4 Parsonage Inn B&B $$
(%410-745-8383; http://www.parsonage-inn.com; 210
N Talbot St; r incl breakfast $150-210; pa)
Laura Ashley’s most lurid fantasies probably
resemble the rooms in the red-brick Parsonage
Inn, which is run by a pair of lovely, awfully
hospitable innkeepers. Ask them about organizing
outdoor expeditions into the nearby countryside,
especially if you’re into fishing.Whitehaven 8
5 Red Roost American $$
(%410-546-5443; 2670 Clara Rd; mains $15-40;
hdinner) The original legend: tell someone from
the Eastern Shore you cracked crabs here and
your street (well, Bay) cred rises immediately.
It’s all-you-can-eat taken to postmodern levels
of silliness: fried chicken, steamed corn, hush
puppies and buckets and buckets of crabs. Don’t
forget about the frequent corny performances of
live piano music.4 Whitehaven Hotel B&B^ $$
(%410-873-2000; http://whitehaven.tripod.
com; 2685 Whitehaven Rd; r $110-150; p) Run
by some lovely Baltimore ladies, the Whitehaven
has excellent rooms and views and is nestled in a
registered historic mansion perched on a small,
picturesque corner of the Eastern Shore.WASHINGTON.DC,.MARYLAND.&.DELAWARE.TRIPS.17
.MARITIME MARYLAND