Yes there are several considered better for fresh eating. It is usually mentioned in the nursery listings.
Re: east coast growing, I personally had big problems with rust and fireblight. I now spray a synthetic so rust is not much of a problem, but I found they were super susceptible to fireblight and were helping get my apples sick which were nearby. So for the apples I felt I had to remove them. I later added some seedlings which are supposed to be fireblight-resistant. Indeed they have been pretty good on that account. One of them is now fruiting, the deer have been eating the fruits so they must not be too bad (I have not gotten a ripe one yet).