101 E. Dover Street, Easton | 410-822-4034 | tidewaterinn.com/hunters-tavern
HUNTERS’ TAVERN
at Tidewater Inn
DINING REVIEW
Where Global Inspirations and Shore Traditions Co-mingle By Sharon Harrington | Photography by Stephen Buchanan
hen friends ask for a restaurant recommendation I often hesitate. I once suggested a very famous New Orleans restaurant where I had a great meal. The friends went and gave this feedback, “it was as if the kitchen brigade had mutinied, the chef was gone, and valet parking was running the kitchen.” It takes a trinity to make a good restaurant experience; good food, good service, and consistency, often the hardest one to achieve. We are very fortunate to have here in Easton, Hunters’ Tavern, a restaurant that checks all the boxes of a satisfying meal experience; one that we can enthusiastically and safely recommend with confidence. Hunters’ Tavern is housed in the Tidewater Inn, an iconic landmark, which has earned a spot on The National Registry of Historic Places as well as a place in the hearts of locals. The property was the site of the Avon Hotel which burned in 1944. The new hotel (Tidewater) opened in 1949 and with each ownership change, the commitment to providing a sampling of the history and charm of the Eastern Shore to visitors continues. Many hotel
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What’s Up? Eastern Shore | June 2020 | whatsupmag.com
restaurants are separate entities with no coordination of the guest experience. That is not true of Hunters’ Tavern. Their seamless integration with the mission of the Inn to offer an Eastern Shore menu, along with innovative American cuisine reflective of the chef’s skill, is evident in the carefully selected offerings. The executive chef of Hunters’ Tavern is Daniel Pochron. Daniel graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park campus. If you are ever traveling in the Hyde Park area, I strongly urge you to take a detour to the CIA campus, located on an old Jesuit novitiate by the banks of the Hudson River. Dine at one of the student-run public restaurants and you can see and taste firsthand where Daniel honed his skills. After graduation, Chef Pochron enhanced his culinary repertoire cooking in Germany, Switzerland, and Mustique before returning stateside. The chef spent time in D.C. where he was Sous Chef Garde Manger at the International Trade Center Ronald Regan building and Executive Sous Chef at the renowned Citronelle before bringing his talent back to the shore. Local diners will be familiar with Pochron’s food from previous venues, Mason’s and The Inn at Perry Cabin.
