If St. Michaels is Maryland’s claim to tidewater area fame, then Cambridge is quietly making a go at being its most impressive up-and-comer, thanks to a revi- talization effort that has taken hold in and around its charming- as-all-get-out Main Street.
locality of its product. The boats literally pluck those oysters, crabs and fish right from the shallows of the Choptank River just outside its doors. The crab itself comes from famed J.M. Clayton Company, which is billed as the world’s oldest continuously operating crabbing outfit (circa-1890s).
This commitment to local products and the area’s watermen are just part of the illustra- tion of how strong the Hyatt’s belief in native food sourcing is - a far cry from the typical “ship it in and freeze it up” mindset of so many other chain operations.
I ordered the in-season and plump fried oysters, their buttermilk jackets crunched appealingly with each bite, and tanged nicely by a dunk of the house made Cajun- style remoulade. My entree, rockfish Oscar, was a meaty and clean-tasting example of the best the Chesapeake area can yield. It was topped heavily with fresh crab, steamed asparagus and a rich hollandaise sauce.
Chilly as it was that night, I made the walk along a trail fronting the Choptank’s shore- line and back toward the twinkling lights of the resort.
To nightcap or not? I was tempted by the crowd gathered in Michener’s Library, the cozy hotel bar named for the famed literary giant, while I made a mental note to read his masterwork Chesapeake. The glasses filled with bourbon over ice in front of drinkers at the bar looked like amber ves- sels of heaven, but I decided to call it a night, which was probably a sensible choice.
Instead, I began burning off that Oscar the next morning in the hotel’s state-of-the-art fitness center (Darn! I should have packed a bathing suit for the indoor swimming pool...) and then, showered, changed and enjoyed a light breakfast at Water’s Edge.
Cari took me into the pride and joy of the property, the year old Sago Spa and Salon. Dedicated to life, vitality and nourishment,
74 January February 2013
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