Look at this thing.
Sometimes, you go out to lunch and get served a lobster roll that’s bigger than your head.
I’m not kidding. I wish I had something smaller in the photo to show scale. Like, a regular-sized lobster roll on a hot dog bun.
And I didn’t even have to go to the shoreline. This behemoth is served at Maine Fish Market , a hugely popular seafood restaurant in East Windsor. The furnishings and decor might be straight out of the ’70s (literally) but the fish is fresh, delicious and plentiful.
The meat was tender and sweet, tossed with just the right amount of cold mayonnaise and a little bit of paprika. No celery, just how I like it. Just a few shreds of lettuce nestled into the bun. Can I even call that a bun? It was more like a full baguette. As it was, I cut the roll in half and ate the lobster meat out of it.
I shared my lobster experience with Facebook friends this afternoon, and thus started the Great Lobster Roll Debate. You see, until I moved to Connecticut, I’d never had a “hot” lobster roll. In the Nutmeg State, restaurants default to these, with the meat bathed in butter and nestled on a toasted roll or bun. The concept was completely foreign to someone who’d grown up eating cold “lobster salad” sandwiches. Mayo, sometimes celery, lettuce – on a split-top hot dog bun.
First comment, from a Connecticut-raised grad school friend: “Panera is now selling lobster roll sandwiches and I rolled my eyes at them because it wasn’t a real lobster roll…It had mayo.”
Second comment, from a Worcester-born Assumption College friend: “A lobster roll without mayo? Fascinating. Sounds tasty.”
Third comment, from a Boston-area raised college friend: “I didn’t know they had lobster rolls without mayo either!”
Now that I’ve had both, I can say they’re equally tasty. The hot version has the butter advantage, enhancing the flavor of the lobster meat and soaking into the bread. (When the meat is gone, it’s like an extra bonus.) But there’s something about the temperature contrast when you’re eating cold lobster salad stuffed into a warm, toasted roll.
I think I’ll have to take the “northern New England” road on this issue, with the conclusion that dude, there really is no bad way to eat lobster. Except maybe the McLobster sandwich.
Leeanne Griffin is a freelance writer and food enthusiast.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Leeanne Griffin. Leeanne Griffin said: How do you like your lobster rolls? Hot or cold? Weigh in here: http://bit.ly/dBVZXZ [...]
Gonna have to agree with you, there is no bad way to eat “lobstah.” That said, I prefer mine warmed with NO MAYO and butter on the side in a split hot dog bun. I don’t know if this is Maine style, which is where I usually eat those bad boys, but that’s how I prefer to roll.
thanks for weighing in! where in Maine do you normally visit? spent childhood summers going to the Rockland area (and Ogunquit when we were older) but literally never had a hot lobster roll until I came to CT.
Camden with visits to Rockland and Portland. I just looked up the place we go to, its called Bayview Lobster in Camden Harbor…ahhhm I can smell it now. The place we go to in CT is near my in-laws and is called Flanders fish house.
Erik has been asking to go here to eat for a while…its just up the street! I have gotten fresh fish there before which we cooked at home. I am convinced now and cant wait to have my lobstah roll!
The last time I had a McDonald’s lobster roll, they were a good value for the price, were 100% real lobster meat (none of that crappy “langostino lobster” or surimi) and were topped with the meat from a whole claw. You linked to an article by someone who’s never even tried one.
I’ve actually had several Mickey D’s lobster rolls over the years. I grew up in central Massachusetts, and they showed up on local McDonald’s menus most summers. All things considering, they really aren’t too bad – but for the most part, almost any lobster roll you’ll find in New England is better. The worst lobster roll I ever had was in Fort Lauderdale, where it was pretty much surimi. That was my own stupid fault for ordering it, though.
[...] this spring’s debate about hot vs. cold lobster rolls? Connecticut: warm lobster meat with melted butter, served on a toasted, buttered bun. Everywhere [...]