January/February 2008

A Shore Thing

Chef Tim Brown of Mariah's Restaurant created a tasting tour of HR eats on a single plate to win the Dish of Hampton Roads award.

By Patrick Evans-Hylton

Geographically removed from the rest of Virginia, the Eastern Shore remains a unique place physically and culturally. A long peninsula with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Chesapeake Bay to the west, it is connected to Hampton Roads only by the thin asphalt ribbon of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The disconnection makes the Shore a special treasure of people and their traditions.

Many of those traditions center around foodways, or eating habits and culinary practices. These, in turn, are centered on the Eastern Shore’s culinary calling cards like crabs, oysters, potatoes and tomatoes.

Near Cape Charles, chef Tim Brown utilizes his connections with local farmers and watermen to create signature dishes at his Mariah’s Restaurant, part of the Tower Hill Bed & Breakfast he and his wife, Melanie, operate.

It was his knowledge of the flavors of the region and how they marry that led Brown to create Encrusted Tuna with Crab Ragout and Hayman Potatoes. That dish won him top honors at the 2007 Hampton March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction, held at The Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach.

The Dish of Hampton Roads is awarded annually at the fundraiser to a chef creation that captures the unique regional flavor of Hampton Roads through ingredients, preparation and/or imagination.

The panel of judges at the October event, which included a half-dozen area culinarians, picked Brown’s offering for the use of ingredients—such as crab from the Chesapeake Bay and Hayman potatoes, a white sweet potato unique to the Eastern Shore.

It was also chosen for the way the flavors played with each other—crunchy-sweet cornmeal encasing delicate, moist tuna. Ribbons of potatoes, sweet and crispy, adorning the top. Flavorful crab shining through the thick, rich seasoned stew.

“I didn’t sign on as a participant until a little later than most, so I really didn’t have that much time to prepare. But I did what I knew, and that is stuff from the Shore,” says Brown.

For the rest of this article, including other winners from the 2007 March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction, see the January issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.