Choptank (CLOSED)

Owner Bobby Werhane (Dell’Anima) and chef Matthew Schaefer (Mermaid Inn) are behind this stylized seaside retreat, decorated with rope lamp shades and antique vacation postcards. The food is transparently trendy: Dixieland flavors are suddenly big, so there’s fried chicken—ironically, the landlubbing, buttermilk-soaked poussin is the best thing on the nautical-leaning menu. In fact, the restaurant’s theme-appropriate fare is also its worst executed: Hard-shell clams in a garlicky broth, for instance, arrive steamed until rubbery. And desserts—like a standard-issue warm chocolate cake—make Choptank no more a dessert destination than it is an old-fashioned fish shack.