In the 1980's while other kids were delightfully digging into Happy Meals and boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese, a little boy in central Texas was dreaming of lobster. Lobster was my favorite food up until the age of 11 or 12 and I consistently pestered my family for the pricey treat. More often than not that meant a broiled rubbery tail that had spent more of its life frozen than attached to a large bug walking the ocean floor. The options in San Antonio were limited to places like Red Lobster or my birthday favorite the Magic Time Machine(see link here). A few standouts were the grilled lobster tails that I enjoyed in Jamaica that were fresh from the ocean and imparted with smokiness missing from insipid chain versions that I normally enjoyed. However, I never came close to visiting the motherland of lobster, New England.
As my tastes evolved my love for lobster diminished. I associated lobster with old school surf and turf places that delivered less than stellar eats. There were new frontiers to explore like Dim Sum, Japanese, Asian Fusion, Regional Italian, and every other food trend of the last 20 years. Lobster was now a menu item that I generally avoided in favor of something like prosciutto wrapped rabbit loin.
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| Classic Surf and Turf |
But like all things from the 80's, lobster is making a comeback in my diet. This has been largely driven my trips to the Boston area over the past five years. Deep in the crustacean motherland, I have had lobster dishes light years ahead of what I have experienced in the past. A few standouts include a phenomenal lemongrass fried rice stuffed lobster at Blue Ginger in Wellesley and the lobster bake at Legal Seafood. But I have really taken it to the next level with my most recent trips to MA. I had not one, not two ,but three different types of lobster rolls and the crown jewel of all surf and turfs-lobster roe noddles with short ribs at Island Creek Oyster House. So without further ado here is a list of the lobster dishes that I have enjoyed in the Boston area.
1. Lobster Roll- Summer Shack Cambridge MA
For my first Lobster Roll, I hit up the Summer Shack with a couple of co-workers. I had been to Summer Shack years earlier during my first trip back east. It looked exactly the same after all these years. Everyone at the table ordered the lobster roll so I can't comment on the rest of the menu which featured your standard New England seafood options. The roll was a salad style roll versus the hot buttered type. The bun was a classic NE England hot dog bun. The chunks of lobster were glued together with mayo and cucumber (instead of celery). It included a bunch of standard fries for good measure. Overall it was the weakest roll that I tasted in these two trips to the Boston area but still better than any Lobster Roll you will ever get outside of New England. The lobster was plentiful and the cucumber added a unique element to the roll. The roll was also the cheapest I had at $20.00.
2. Lobster Roe Noodles- Island Creek Oyster Bar Boston MA
My wife had gone to Island Creek early in 2012 and was a big fan. So when I had a free night from training, I convinced a couple of my fellow conscripts to make the trek out to the Back Bay for further lobster treats. Island Creek was nothing like the faux lobster shack environment of the Summer Shack. This was a large big city restaurant with a beautiful interior and stylish clientele from adjacent Commonwealth Hotel. The menu reflected that sophistication with upmarket seafood dishes like locally sourced Monkfish, Bay of Maine line caught Halibut and about 15 different types of oysters. Everyone in the party was intent on having lobster rolls but the server tried to steer us away. He mentioned that their signature dish was Lobster Roe Noodles($27.00). These noodles where fettuccine with the lobster roe added to the pasta mix. The noodles were then topped with chunks of lobster and short rib. Well how could I say no to such a modern interpretation of surf and turf. The others stuck with the lobster roll. When our dishes arrived it was clear that I chose the winner. The lobster roll was fine but the noodles were out of this world. They melted in your mouth with a light lobster flavor that was enhanced by the chunks of tender short ribs and buttery lobster. The dish came together with a delicious gravy and earthy shiitake mushrooms. This has to be one of the top 3 lobster dishes that I have ever eaten.
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| Lobster Roe Noodles at Island Creek Oyster House |
3. Lobster Roll-Legal C Bar Logan International Terminal B
I wasn't expecting to be eating at Legal C Bar but thanks to an indefinite delay due to fog in San Francisco I spend the better part of an evening there. Outside of security at Terminal B, it is the only dining option for Virgin American flyers. I wasn't expecting that much at the airport but they actually produced a serious lobster roll(salad style). It was chock full of lobster and featured celery as a proper salad lobster roll should. It was the best meal one could ask for at an airport especially considering the lack of other options at Terminal B for Virgin Flyers. It almost made up for the 6 hour delay and the reverse red eye I had to endure...almost...
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| Legal's Lobster Roll...a classic rendition |
While I was enjoying all of these great lobster dishes, my colleague Norm was regaling me about his trip to Neptune Oyster Bar and the divine hot buttered lobster roll. Everyone at the Cambridge office that I was training at told me that Neptune was a challenging place to get into in the North End. Norm and I decided that we needed to go on the slowest night possible. So we chose September 11th a Monday, it seemed like it would be the slowest day possible. Well after a 60 minute wait (promised 20 minutes) we were squeezed in between two couples on the counter the pocket sized restaurant. The menu was short with several raw bar options along with a few hot favorites. We went with the hot buttered lobster rolls of course but also convinced ourselves that we could down the Trident Plateau a massive collection of raw bar classics($59). The Plateau was a sight to behold and could have been a meal onto itself. Filled with cooked chilled lobster meat, oysters, littleneck clams, mussels, and crab salad it was shellfish overload. Then the lobster rolls arrived($25).... A simple hot dog bun filled with giant chunks of buttered lobster..it was truly a thing of beauty. So simple yet so divine... While I enjoyed my dining experience more at Island Creek, it was hard to resist the raw carnal power of buttered lobster chucks and copious amounts of shellfish.
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| Hot Buttered Lobster Roll..pure food porn... |
After Neptune's I took a sabbatical from lobster and haven't had it since. But another trip to Boston looms on the horizon and I can not resist the siren song of the divine crustaceans forever...
