Maryland's Eastern Shore in Spring

During my weekend at the Eastern Shore of MD I spent most of my time in St. Michael's and Easton. Both are very walkable towns. St. Michael's has done a much better job of promoting itself and most of the shops and restaurants stay open later than they do in Easton. There are a lot of gallerys, shops and boutiques in St. Michael's, a terrific maritime museum and a bevy of fine restaurants. As you might expect, many of the restaurants specialize in seafood.

Quick Tips:

Quick tips: bikes and feet are best for seeing St. Michael's. Hats are good for keeping the sun off your face.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around is by foot or by bike. Parking is pretty limited in St. Michael's and nearly everything is within walking distance.

There are about eight cottages of varying sizes (larger size, higher price). Each is sparsely but comfortably furnished, and includes a full kitchen, dining area, and sleeping area. All cottages are waterfront. Although I classified it as a bed and breakfast, it is really a "bed and boat." Their tagline is, "no breakfast . . . wife would kill me." Instead, you make your own breakfast in your kitchen and have access to a variety of boats or can launch your own. Although the accomodations aren't real fancy, the view is beautiful and very quiet. Harris Cove is very close to St. Michael's, Easton, and other popular Eastern Shore tourist destinations. The proprietors, Norm and Joan, are very friendly and helpful, catering both to young lovers looking for privacy and families with kids looking for some space to run around. Two kids were in a nearby cabin when I was there and they really seemed to enjoy the fish, turtles, and other animals that are apt to show up at any time.

I rate it highly recommended because it's terrific at being what it is, but if you want swanky or anonymous, this is not the place. I think it would be especially good for a family reunion or a wedding group.

The decor is an odd mix of mobster memorabilia and taxidermy. There is a bar, with booths and rooms for smokers and non-smokers. There is also limited outdoor seating in fair weather.

The menu is relatively short and predictable, but the hours (until 10pm) are later than many places in Easton. We ate lunch there. I had a perfectly good crabcake sandwich even out of season, but the potato chips were stale (probably left out overnight). My friend had a roast beef au jus (a.k.a. French dip) that she liked very much. The menu didn't get a whole lot more exciting than that for lunch, the dinner menu looked slightly more interesting (almond crusted red snapper). A children's menu is available, but I didn't see it. There is a full bar and a selection of beers and wines. Locally, the cream of crab soup has an excellent reputation.

Location: The corner of Dover and Harrison streets, next to the historic Avalon Theatre (primarily a live music venue).

Reservations: optional. Catering and carryout available.

Sweet Nina's is a locally owned and operated coffee house with a very nice selection of primarily Italian cookies, pastries, chocolates, and gelato. They also have some dessert wines. There is limited seating both inside and outside and the shop's hours are some of the longest in Easton (Wed/Thu/Sun 10am-6pm and Fri/Sat 10am-11pm).

Its location across the street from both Legal Spirits Tavern and the Avalon Theatre make it a good place to stop in before or after being in either one of those places or at any one of the other nearby restaurants. Tony, the owner, was there both times that I stopped in and was very friendly and personable. I had freshly piped cannoli and pignoli (pine nut cookies), an Italian soda, and a latte during my two visits. All were very good.

I really liked the decor which felt welcoming and orderly in a well-thought-out sort of way. It gave me the impression that everything was done for a reason and that reason had to do with making Nina's a pleasant place to visit or work.

This is a waterfront fine dining establishment where you will find tourists and locals alike. There were some prom dates there the night we tried it.

The menu is dominated by seafood, but there are plenty of land-based alternatives. The staff is very competent and highly trained. The wine list is of medium length and good quality. Wines are available by the glass, bottle and 1/2 bottle.

During the season the seafood and much of the produce are local. I was a little disappointed in the house "chopped salad," which was mostly Romaine lettuce and not very interesting. The bread served before the meal was fresh, hot, and had very good texture and taste (it was whole wheat). I had a grilled shrimp with creamy grits and andoille sausage. The shrimp and grits were lovely, but the sausage was a little tough and tasted overcooked -- it had lost much of its flavor. On the whole though, I enjoyed the dish and didn't miss not eating the sausage. My partner had grouper over steamed asparagus which she enjoyed very much.

The view of the boats in the harbor at night was lovely. The section of the restaurant in which we sat unfortunately tended to boost the volume of the other diners in the room, one of whom insisted on singing loudly at irregular intervals. While the architecture was very pretty, I think they might lower the ceiling to lower the volume. The other parts of the restaurant didn't seem to have the same problem, so next time, I'd choose to sit in one of them.

There is a full bar, and coffee drinks and dessert are available, but I didn't try them. Chocolate dipped strawberries came with the check and they were a great finish to a very nice dinner.

I wouldn't take my children here, but the tables do have white paper on them and there are crayons available. I didn't see the children's menu, but I think they must have one or they wouldn't bother with the crayons.

This is a breakfast place. In fact, it's THE breakfast place in St. Michael's. This is where you come to get your eggs, bacon, and home fries. If you want something much fancier than that, you're out of luck.

It's on the main drag in St. Michael's -- the service is pretty good, the food's pretty good, and the prices are pretty good. It's frequented by locals and tourists both. It's nothing very fancy, but it's solid at what it does. It seems to have expanded in the last few years, so business must be pretty good too.

They also serve lunch, but this is primarily a breakfast place by the look and feel of it. My breakfast was good, but the sausage patties lacked any kick and were a little overcooked. The bacon was right on target: a little chewy with some crisp to it.

The museum is more of a campus than a traditional museum. There are separate buildings housing exhibits on oystering, lighthouse life, building and operating boats on the Bay, harvesting food from the bay, and people on the bay. Tall ships occasionally visit, as there is a working dock as part of the complex. It also hosts special events like a crab weekend and log boat races.

The thing that I liked best about the museum is that there is something for just about anyone. I preferred the oystering exhibit because it showed a lot about the cultural history of the area and the lives of the oysterman and the cannery workers. A friend preferred looking at some of the historic boats and the boatbuilding ship. Another person might be fascinated by their extensive decoy collection.

Since there are 14 buildings/areas on the museum grounds (including a museum store), you could spend a very long time here if so inclined.

There are a few hands-on exhibits for kids, but many of the exhibits are more adult or older student oriented. The museum is located right in downtown St. Michael's, so if you are planning to walk around the town and its shops, a visit to the museum fits right in with no extra stop required.

It's one of those beautiful old movie theaters that was saved from demolition a few years ago. It's been restored and reconfigured as a performing arts venue. The shows include everything from the Air Force Concert band to Little Feat and Eddie from Ohio to student piano recitals.

Tickets are available from the box office or TicketMaster. I'd visit www.avalontheatre.com for the latest schedule.

It's a small, intimate venue with a lot of historic appeal. Theatre, music and dance classes for teens and children are conducted on site as well.