All I know is, when I get back from Maine, I have to make Iris a lobster roll. She made this clear.
When some friends of mine said they were renting a house in Maine and invited me to come along, I wasn’t sure whether I could justify the expense or being away from the rest of the family for a few days. Then I thought about lobster. I had never had a lobster roll. I don’t know if any place in Seattle serves a lobster roll. For one thing, it requires the kind of top-split hot dog buns you only see on the East Coast.
I was so intent on lobster rolls that I convinced Liza and Dan, who were giving me a ride up from Boston, that we should find a roadside shack and get lobster rolls for lunch. By the time we got to Portland, it was 3:30. We were about ready to dive into the water and eat barnacles. There was a real danger that this roadside shack existed only in my imagination. Luckily, Maine really is a state of roadside seafood shacks. We stopped at one called Benny’s, which claimed to have the best lobster roll in the state. They also claimed the best fried clams, the best clam burger, and so on.
It may be that other shacks make this claim. Just a hunch. While some lobster rolls are surely better than others, I assume they’re all good. Buttered, toasted hot dog bun, lettuce, and lightly dressed lobster salad. How could this go wrong? Benny’s had a tent set up next to a wooded area. Basically we ate our lobster rolls in a forest. Down the block, people were selling live lobsters from a van.
The problem with lobster rolls: your first turns you into an addict. I am supposed to be playing foosball and sitting in the hot tub. Instead I am writing about lobster rolls, plotting my next few lobster rolls, thinking about a lobster roll line-item in the budget.
We did the same thing when we were in Maine, many, many moons ago.
And then we took a photo of a McDonalds advertising their own lobster rolls. Which was very, very wrong (McDonalds and lobster–not our photo!), but very, very amusing.
On the way back to Boston, I strongly recommend stopping at Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery for some awesome fried scallops and a lobster roll. I stop there every time I’m back east (home).
http://www.bobsclamhut.com/ Make sure you go to the actual hut not their ‘restaurant’ “Robert’s Maine Grill” which I didn’t find quite as wonderful.
Until a few years ago, when I arrived in NYC to visit my sister, we went right away to Katz’s for a corned beef sandwich. Now, we go off to Pearl Oyster Bar for the city’s best Lobster Roll. It is a guilty pleasure at $22 per. And then, Corned Beef.
So vividly written, it’s like I was there.
So are you bringing back the hot dog buns and the fresh lobster? It’s the only way to make an authentic one for Iris. And while you’re at it…can I get you to bring some back for me too? I miss my New England summers full of lobster and fabulous homegrown tomatoes and corn 30 seconds off the stalk.
Your Mom and I talked about opening a lobster (and crab and shrimp) roll stand in the market way back in ’02. Nice dream.
Susan, I’m going to fake the buns as best I can. The Maine lobster we get is fine, at least in the sense that when I tasted Maine lobster in Maine, it was the lobster roll format that grabbed me, not the fresher taste of the lobster.
i think you should take two-three lobsters home with you, as carry-on baggage, in one of those little zip-up cat carrier dealies.
Would the TSA consider a lobster to be a gel?
No, wait, even better. The new action movie starring Samuel L. Jackson: LOBSTERS ON A PLANE!
I also like the vision of live lobsters being sold out of a van, like a really tasty drug deal.
One of Jeffery Steingarten’s book (I can’t remember which one of the two) has a recipe for lobster rolls. He is aware of the fact that the buns are only available on the east coast, and even has a recipe for how to make them.
Trader Joe’s has an uncut bun that can be sliced from the top. Trim the sidea, brush with butter and brown them and you’re pretty close. Also, The Baker’s Catalog sells preformed pans to make them at home.
People out here just don’t get the concept of the CORRECT roll for lobster rolls! I’m going to be making some lobster rolls in a couple of weeks, and the best rolls I’ve found are at Whole Foods. They’re not pre-sliced and are rather tall, so I’m hoping they’ll be a good facsimile. But if you happen to bring back a few packages, I’ll pay dearly ;)
Betsy, I travel too light for buns, I’m afraid. But I may have to order the pan from King Arthur.
My husband’s from those grounds. If you’re looking for a few other experiences, start with the lobster roll at the Falmouth Town Landing – just north of Portland – for an intense exercise in jaw stretching. Should you find yourself hankering for the whole lobster/butter/corn experience, hit up Harraseeket Lobster, just south of Freeport. Don’t forget the chocolate pie.
wait…you travel too light for hotdog buns?
you could ditch a pair of shoes, replace ’em with four thousand hotdog buns, and still come out ahead.
and you have to take your shoes off at the airport, anyway…if you show up barefoot, you’ll just save yourself time and hassle.
heather, a pair of shoes in my luggage? You must be joking.
Jess, I wish I could traipse around Portland in search of lobster experiences, but it will have to be next time.
:sigh: I understand.
Fortunately I have an ace in the hole: parents who live in Maine (they’re going to freeze a package and then send it to me. We’ll see how they hold up!!!)