201 Market, Skowhegan, Me (cheese, wine, fresh seafood, and lots more)

[Pat Hammond]

If you find yourself on Route 201 in Skowhegan, maybe heading for a day of white water rafting, or on your way to Canada, or, like me, visiting home, keep an eye out for a new business called 201 Market at 226 Madison Avenue (aka Rt. 201). It's a cheese, wine, seafood shop with other goodies, pie and baguettes, and whatever else you'd want for a very fine picnic. They have live lobsters, but will cook them for you for $1. We bought 3 small ones, but they were hard-shelled and full of meat. You can point to the lobster you want and they'll catch it for you. We bought a bottle of Gewurztraminer ($10) that was perfect. All of the fish looked first rate, hand-picked crab meat, too. Have a look at the cheese selection. One especially nice variety is a sharp cheddar that's layered with a stripe of Stilton. They'll have produce too, undoubtedly berries, corn, cukes and tomatoes, once the season gets rolling.
Phone: [phone] for hours. I believe they're closed on Mondays.