The Clam Shack, Kennebunkport, Maine: Lobster Roll Rumble 2012 Fan Favorite Winner

We lined up on a cold, damp Maine day, last week, cash in hand, with few prospects for seating, excited, nonetheless, to soon be tasting the award winning The Clam Shack lobster roll.

The Clam Shack is a stand-alone street-side shack, in the heart of downtown Kennebunkport, approximately 2 hours north of Boston. The Shack offers only a take-out window, no wait service, no seating: you order, you stand around with your receipt in hand, you hope there is an open bench nearby when your order is up, your mouth waters as you wait for your number to be called….this is old-school, New England eating, at its best, even on a rainy day. The fare is typical of any other clam shack: chowder, steamers, fried clams, rolls of either lobster, shrimp or crab. Add a side of fries or onion rings and close with a slice of blueberry pie and you have a perfect summer meal served by a super friendly staff.

I had heard the hype, I had read the reviews and I celebrated that a New England eatery had scored the “fan favorite” prize at last year’s Rumble and I finally made the trip; with my mother and my children in tow, we hit the road. When I placed my order I was offered two options, butter or mayo, I went with the mayo. For my $16.75 I was served an open-faced round toasted roll with mayonnaise spread on both sides of the bun. The sandwich itself contained lots of lobster meat, nothing but lobster meat and big, generous fresh hunks of mostly tail and some claw meat….the sandwich is hearty and absolutely delicious. This is a traditional lobster roll, no fillers, no seasonings (I do not understand the call for seasoning a perfectly cooked lobster), no odd flavor pairings (I recently read about a lobster roll with barbecue sauce and caramelized onions…really?). The Clam Shack lobster roll is just lobster, just as it should be and I loved it!

We had also ordered the chowder, some fries and my mom had a shrimp roll. We sat, huddled, in the front entry of the next-door but not yet open-for-the-season Clam Shack fish market. The fish market had put out some high-top tables, there were many more customers than available seats; we were lucky to be sitting, lots of others either ate in their car or just stood about with cardboard box in one hand and lobster roll in the other. Everyone seemed happy.

I look forward to this year’s Tasting Table Lobster Roll Rumble. I wish The Clam Shack the very best and certainly hope to return to Kennebunk, real soon. There is nothing, it seems, like a Maine lobster and there are very few lobster rolls, it seems, like that which is served at Kennebunkport’s The Clam Shack.

“The Tasting Table Lobster Roll Rumble is an amazing opportunity to show New Yorkers and trendsetting foodies what we in Maine already know — there is only one Maine lobster and the flavor is impossible to beat,” said Marianne LaCroix, acting director of the Maine Lobster Council, an organization that promotes the state’s signature seafood.
This year four Maine-based operations — Portland’s Eventide Oyster Co., Bite Into Maine in Cape Elizabeth and The Galley Restaurant & Pub in Naples — join reigning champ The Clam Shack in the Big Apple. They are among a field of contestants hand-picked by Tasting Table editors.

Many others, including Luke’s Lobster, the California-based Cousins Maine Lobster and Red Hook Lobster Pound of New York, are run by Maine natives or folks with close family ties to the state.
Even chefs without any direct connection to Maine consider the state’s beloved crustacean their best shot at being crowned the country’s lobster roll king, said Tasting Table spokeswoman Samantha Bernstein.

“A lot of our contestants boast that they fly in fresh Maine lobster, so I think everybody tries to have some kind of tie to the region,” she said.

(The Bangor Daily News, Seth Koenig, May 27, 2013)

The Clam Shack
2 Western Avenue
Kennebunkport, Maine
04043
http://theclamshack.net/

Lotta Lobster at Lobsta Love Food Truck in Boston

My kids and I have been trying to track down the Lobsta Love food truck all summer. Man, these folks get around! We finally found them at Boston’s SoWa open-market (one of the most hip scenes in all of Beantown – if you’re into artisanal just-about anything, vintage everything and small-producer food products, check out the SoWa market, we love it, you will too, it’s just very cool). The wait, the search, the hunt for the Lobsta Love truck was well worth it, we were impressed!

Lobsta Love offers lots of lobster options including several choices of lobster rolls. I was intrigued with the concept of the $6.50 lobster roll slider and decided to order both the traditional and the Asian inspired. Yep, I stepped out of my comfort zone and went with something new. What we got for our $12.00 ($6.50 for one slider, two for $12.00, three for $17.00) were two well-stocked, sweet and yummy brioche rolls, toasted, buttered and loaded with big, whole chunks of delicious, fresh lobster meat. The traditional mini-roll was heavy on the lobster, light on the mayo, making for a hearty snack, individually and when paired, a nice lunch. The Asian fusion roll was tasty and different but seemed to be more inspired that impressive. I’ll give them points for creative flavor, I just don’t see the departure from the traditional as being necessary…more of my personal preference. Each slider came with a handful plus of chips, I’m guessing Cape Cod but maybe not.

Lobsta Love offers sliders, a standard size “classic split-top” (priced at $16.00), a Parmesan encrusted roll (one for $9.00, two for $17.00…not going there, I remain firm that seafood mixed with cheese is a no-no) and a super-sized “jumbo torpedo” for $23.00. All their breads come from Iggy’s, a local and favorite Boston bread maker. You can order a traditional roll (made with LL’s homemade mayo) or an Asian-fusion roll (which I thought was interesting but I probably would skip next time).

All-in-all, a fun food truck experience, absolutely satisfying, a good value and a pleasure to have connected with this super cool team of lobster lovers. Check them out!

Lobsta Love Food Truck
http://www.lobstalove.net

 

The D.C. Lobster Roll Experience: Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck

I have to admit, the appeal of the food truck is fading fast. I jumped on the craze late (just last summer) and am departing rather early. I got hooked by the taco trucks on Abbot Kinney in Venice, California thinking that trucks would allow for tastings from chefs I might not have otherwise had the pleasure of experiencing, but the novelty is wearing off, especially for lobster roll trucks. Having said that, Red Hook Lobster Pound in D.C. offers a decent (albeit pricey) lobster roll, my first (and only) in our nation’s capitol.

No minced or chipped meat on the Red Hook roll; claw, knuckle and tail meat is served in both the Maine roll (cold with mayo) and the Connecticut roll (warm with butter), in large chunks. The disappointingly small bun is toasted and buttered (even on the Maine roll); the roll is served with a wedge of lemon and a pickle slice. For $18.00 (high, for a truck) you get a bag of (the omnipresent) Cape Cod chips and a Maine Root soda (nice small label offering great flavors). The lobster roll is nice, even delicious, but frankly, expensive, especially given the size. I’ve mentioned, in my last blog, the depressed prices of wholesale lobsters and yes, I remember my econ 101, first day of class lesson: never price according to cost, price according to demand. Okay, I get it, it’s July, lobster rolls are the food of summer time and lobster rolls are, in this July of 2012, all the rage. Yes, demand is high, but…

I wish I could suggest a D.C. alternative that offered a better deal; I don’t spend nearly enough time in the area (I’d love to know the town better) and, therefore, have nothing to compare it to. Red Hook Lobster Pound offers a fine lobster roll, really, they do. For the money, though and given the parking lot experience, I want something more….just my personal preference. You won’t be disappointed at Red Hook Lobster Pound but you just may end up a little bit hungry.

Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck

http://www.redhooklobsterdc.com/

Washington, DC | Phone: (202) 341-6263

Boston’s Best: Neptune Oyster

I suppose I should offer a few disclaimers up front: Amy from Austin has not been to Neptune Oyster (yet) AND Neptune not only serves one of my all-time, best-anywhere lobster rolls, but it is also one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Boston, in fact, it is absolutely one of my favorites, anywhere…and food critics agree, everyone loves Neptune Oyster. This is a somewhat biased review.

Neptune sits on a narrow and crowded side-street in Boston’s North End, our “Little Italy”, that, much like NYC’s Italian neighborhood, now caters mostly to tourists by offering sub-standard fare in cheesy (couldn’t resist, sorry) “red-sauce” establishments. Frankly, my family and I hardly ever eat in the North End, unless we are headed to Neptune or if I am doing my holiday shopping at the local salumerias, I’ll sneak in a quickie at the bar, one round of oysters and I am good-to-go. Neptune is tiny (small parties only), loud (I love, love, love the white subway-tiled walls, the tin ceiling and white marble tabletops…although not for the acoustic effect), slightly cramped (one long red leather banquette) and there is always a considerable wait (no reservations taken)…all well-worth enduring as Neptune never disappoints.

Okay, on to the lobster roll: two options, hot or cold. The hot is dripping (and I mean dripping) with butter, the cold (absolutely my preference) is just perfection. No hotdog buns at Neptune, your lobster is served on a gorgeous (but soft) baguette which is grilled and oh, so fabulous (Neptune, with its décor and vivacious vibe definitely has the feel of a French bistro). Whether hot or cold, the lobster is plentiful (nothing minced in this lobster roll) with no filler (the cold roll has just enough mayo…just enough) and served with a side of perfectly prepared fries. This is a generous dish; I usually go light on my oysters (maybe just four?) if I am ordering a lobster roll (Neptune’s entire menu is fabulous…so fabulous that a few times my family and I have celebrated the Neapolitan Feast of the Seven Fishes, here). A couple of beers (or a few glasses of prosecco, as I prefer) and really, my friends, it just does not get any better.

At $25.00 this is one of the priciest lobster rolls I’ve enjoyed but is it worth it!! If you are in, near or are planning to come to Boston, hit up Neptune, you’ll fall in love.

Neptune Oyster
63 Salem Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02210
617-742-3474
http://www.neptuneoyster.com

The Urban Lobster Roll: The Lobster Place in NYC’s Chelsea Market

Picture this: Amy from Austin is in New York City charged with feeding 18 of her colleagues as they work on a local photo shoot. Now imagine Amy carrying 18 “lunch boxes” from The Lobster Place in Manhattan’s Chelsea Market, bringing to the set, boxes of lobster rolls…job well done, Amy!

The Lobster Place has been a NYC institution since 1974 beginning in a small store on the Upper West Side. For decades they’ve brought “a taste of the rugged Maine coast” to the city’s best restaurants and to local retail customers, says Ian MacGregor, their Chief Fishmonger. In the 1990s they moved to Chelsea Market and expanded their selection to include “just about everything that swims in the ocean”….and in 2011, Amy from Austin became a fan.

Fast forward to a steaming hot NYC July day, I’m in the city on business but am stealing away from work to meet up with mom for an afternoon at the beach. I promised I’d bring lunch and with Amy’s recommendation, I head to Chelsea Market. Yep, the parking was as awful as I’d expected. Yep, I was feeling a bit uncertain about the concept of the “urban lobster roll”, but I trust Amy as a foodie and I was intrigued.

At Amy’s suggestion, I purchase two “lunch boxes” and for my $19.95 per, we each got a lobster roll, a bag of Cape Cod potato chips, coleslaw, a cookie and an Root Soda all packed up in a little white cardboard box, charming and, if the lobster is as good as I expect, not a bad deal, I was excited. I head out of the city, pick up mom in Brooklyn and we make our way to the Rockaways to cool down. And then we sit for lunch. WOW! The Lobster Place menu describes their (very hearty) lobster roll as “fresh claw and tail meat, celery, scallions, lemon, pepper and mayo”, these folks take lobster seriously and they do lobster rolls right! My mother and I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and for two ladies used to buying our seafood “fresh off the boat”, we got a kick out of the whole experience. It was delightful.

I know, I know, lobster rolls are plenty now in NYC, soon to come will be Blog Lobster’s reviews of Luke’s, Pearl’s and, of course, Ed’s (spoiler alert, Ed’s gets a five-star review…LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Ed’s). If you are in the city, though, and want a lobster roll to go, make your way to Chelsea Market and order a lunch box, you won’t be disappointed, neither of The Amys were, in fact, we can’t wait to go back!

The Lobster Place

Chelsea Market

75 Ninth Avenue

New York, NY 10011

http://www.lobsterplace.com/