Maine Part 4: The Lobster Roll
One of the main things people think of when they think of Maine is lobsters. This isn't just some overblown stereotype, the way rude New Yorkers is an overblown stereotype to people from the Midwest; New Yorkers are actually nice and want to be helpful, any New Yorker could tell you that it's the people from Jersey you have to watch out for. The lobster in Maine is ubiquitous. It is a major part of some segments of the state's economy. Sure tourists will eat it at a far greater rate than the locals, but can you blame them? Fresh lobsters are $3.99 a pound, well over a fifty percent discount from what can be found outside of New England. And so a natural byproduct stemming from the proliferation of lobsters are lobster rolls and the shacks that serve them, even if they, too, seem to be predominantly occupied by tourists.
All the blogs will point to Red's Eats as the premier spot for lobster rolls. Well, the roll at Red's is great, and it deserves to be found on any list, but it seems to me that the love for Red's might be due in part to its perceived popularity, the lines are typically pretty long, which could very likely be due in large part to its location. Red's is located just before the Rte. 1 bridge in Wiscasset, a major thoroughfare along the Maine coast, making it easily the most accessible, read: on the way to wherever you're going with your screaming children, impatient friends, etc., of all the shacks on all the lists. The rest of the highly acclaimed shacks tend to be out of the way, typically located towards the ends of one of the many fingers of Maine, close to the source of these little critters but large enough of a schlep away from the main drags to deter even some of the most lobster crazed individuals, a camp I claim myself to be a part of.
This is disappointing, because I had lobster rolls of equal quality at venues far more remote, but seemingly far more authentic, where the lobster boats dock twenty feet from the shack in the morning to deliver their goods. One such location being McLoons Lobstah Shack on the St. George Peninsula, which is out of the way even if you live on the St. George peninsula. But the setting here can't be beat, remote yes, but sitting on top of a dock where lobster boats are coming and going, carrying your lunch from one of the hundreds of boeys dotting the bay that stretches out ahead of you is a special experience. When we were here, the only other diners went by first name, and we were showered with appreciation for stopping by.
Not far from McLoon's is Miller's Lobster Co, a more known and documented spot with a similar concept of boat to pot. Like McLoon's, Miller's is remote enough where you'll think the map was wrong and that you're lost, but you're not. The map is right, keep going down what seems like a rural, heavily wooded street that may or may not seem like your heading right for a surly Mainer with a do not trespass sign, a shotgun, and a doberman. But don't listen to your urbanized instincts, they're wrong and the reward from Miller's Lobster is so right.
North of Rockland and Camden is a little village of Lincolnville, and in it, facing each other from opposite sides of one of the few sandy beaches on the mid-coast, are two restaurants that from the outside appear touristy, especially since you walk through gift shops adorned with everything lobster to get to the dining room. Well they may in fact be touristy but that doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing. Less shack and more geezer early bird special vibe, The Lobster Pound and McLaughlin's Lobster Shack might not hit you as charming or worth your time, but get off of your high horse you snob. The Lobster Pound, the northernmost of the two spots, has a huge outdoor deck overlooking the beach and the water, and the lobster rolls, served two ways, hot and buttered or cold and mayonaissed, can satisfy crowds of all types (it would be remiss of me to not mention here that Manhattan and Brooklyn's rooftop to table, cro-nut crazed, over the top foodie psychopaths label hot and buttered lobster rolls as Connecticut style and cold and mayonaissed versions as Boston styled, which might typify regional preferences south of Portsmouth, but in Maine, any lobster dish is Maine style, and don't you forget it).
If you're unable to stray too far from the Portland area, then check out the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company in South Freeport. Downtown Freeport itself might have turned into not too much more than Maine's premier outlet mall region, but South Freeport is still primarily residential. It feels much more small New England town-ish than its mid-coast neighbors to the north which feel decidedly rural. Wind your way through a maze of colonial style houses and you'll finally approach Harraseeket, found on a dock jutting into the Harraseeket River. The Harraseeket river is really more of a bay within the Casco Bay, on the opposite end of which lies Portland.
What I learned from my time touring as many Lobster shacks as humanly possible is that they're all good. After all, they make their lobster rolls with lobster. Some of these shacks can be found on google, but many of them can't, so take a turn that feels wrong, if you're headed towards the water, there is a good chance your headed for a tasty lunch on a dock.
