Mark’s Score 8.8
A good butcher is hard to find, and let us not even talk about cheese selections at the local supermarket. American supermarkets are full of bland cheeses and leathery meats, so when you run across a grocery store that has a butcher, a well-stocked cheese counter, a bakery, and a decent wine selection, it is time to celebrate. Even better, this epicurean gem has a catering business as well (Gourmet by the Bay).
Village Shoppe is owned by Sydney and Jim Trond, two ex-patriot New Englanders who escaped the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine for the warm waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Both Sydney and Jim are classically trained chefs as well as talented providores.
I fell upon the Village Shoppe by chance. The store is located across the street from Bordeleau’s tasting room. One day, after delivering wine to Bordeleau I wandered across the street thinking I was entering a small country convenience store, selling common food items for the tourist. Boy, was I wrong.
When we lived in Boston, I shopped at Savenor’s, one of the nation’s best providores. I have missed Savenor’s ever since we left Boston; to this day, I still salivate when I think of their wild boar bacon. I wasn’t expecting to find its near equal in St Michaels, Maryland, but I did.
On my first visit, it looked like an ordinary store, I went in, bought what I needed and left. It was only on the second visit that realized I had found another Savenor’s. You know you are in a good butcher’s shop when you see a refrigerator filled with aged meats. When I stumbled upon the aged meats, I decide to take a closer look. Then I noticed the lamb. It is hard to find good lamb in this country, at any price. Their chops are the best lamb chops I have ever purchased, including lamb purchased in Australia, which is rightly famous for its lamb.
I was already cock-a-hoop over the meats, then I found the cheese section. Their cheese section occupies a tiny section of the store, you can easily walk right by it. But what they lack in space they make up for in a virtual who’s who of global cheeses. I cannot remember the last time I had seen a mimolette, a pico, or a Buche de Chevre in a US grocery store. It is like I died and had gone to cheese heaven. Life is too short to waste on bad cheese.
I haven’t tried the baked goods, but given how hard it is to find a good bakery here, I am resolved to buy some bread on my next visit. I didn’t spend much time in their wine section either, I have a number of places where I can buy good wine. But the next time I am there, I will take a closer look to see if they have any hard-to-find wines.
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