THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607090026
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Morsels
SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia
LENGTH: 63 lines
IT WAS AN idea born from eating at too many bad restaurants and drinking too much Scotch, says Susan Eanes.
Several years ago, Susan and her husband, Charles Eanes, were sailing the Caribbean on a chartered boat. Life was good, ``except we had to stop sailing every day at 3:30 to find a restaurant,'' says Charles.
After several less-than-appetizing meals, the couple began searching for boating guidebooks that included restaurant recommendations. They didn't find any. Not for either the Caribbean Sea or the Chesapeake Bay, where the Hampton couple usually sailed.
Then in 1991, over a bottle of Scotch, the Eaneses decided to pack their duffel bags, sail to the Caribbean and launch Espichel Enterprises, a company that publishes dining guides for boaters. Incidentally, Espichel is the name of the Eaneses' 52-foot sailboat.
In the past five years, the Eaneses have written guides to Puerto Rico, the Leeward Islands, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
After nearly four years in the tropics, ``we were tired of getting up to another beautiful day in paradise,'' Susan says.
So last summer they sailed home and began researching the ``Chesapeake Bay Restaurant Guide & Recipe Book.''
They missed the change of seasons and the taste of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs, they say. And by sailing north when they did, they missed the 1995 hurricane season and the destruction it wrought.
Not that they steered clear of bad weather. In January, the Espichel was frozen into Baltimore Harbor with three feet of snow on deck. In March, the couple motored south and found themselves dodging freighters in the mouth of the Bay.
Through it all, the Eaneses ate, and ate and ate.
Some of their favorites up and down the Bay include Harry Brown's in Annapolis, Md. ``They have the meanest veal chop I've ever had,'' Susan says. And The Hamptons in Baltimore where the food and service are exquisite but ``take a lot of money.''
Then there are the little family-operated restaurants.
Especially on the Eastern Shore, the restaurateurs concentrate more on the flavors than on the presentation. It's simple food but it's often wonderful, Susan says.
To qualify for the book, a restaurant has to be within walking distance of a marina or provide transportation to boaters. The Eaneses dine at each restaurant at their own expense, judging food, service, ambience and cleanliness.
``The restrooms are really telling,'' says Susan.
When they have decided a restaurant deserves to be included, they approach the owners with a proposal. The Eaneses will take the photographs, write the descriptions and publish the book. To be included, the restaurant agrees to purchase 150 books for resale.
There are 99 restaurants listed in the ``Chesapeake Bay Restaurant Guide & Recipe Book.'' The book costs about $14.95 at such area restaurants as Henry's in Virginia Beach, Ships Cabin in Norfolk and Amory's Wharf in Portsmouth. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by VICKI CRONIS, The Virginian-Pilot
Charles and Susan Eanes have published other guides on Puerto Rico,
the Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands
Color photo of book cover by CNB