If you are a seafood lover, Maine is the place for you, especially if you enjoy lobster. Lobster is everywhere, even on their license plate. During our times out on the water I was always amazed at how many lobster traps are out there. It's a serious business, this lobster thing.
One of the food items on my list to try during this trip was lobster rolls. I've had lobster rolls before, but only in the maritime provinces of Canada, never in Maine. The first lobster roll of the trip was in Bar Harbor at Leary's Landing Irish Pub. I love Irish pubs, but lobster rolls are not usually something I eat at pubs. In this case, every place had lobster rolls so we decided to give it a try. I am so glad we did.
The lobster roll was delicious! It came on a toasted brioche bun, loaded with lobster and a lemon aioli. It was served with hand cut fries that were also incredible. The lobster rolls I had in the past all had mayo, but I was pleasantly surprised at the fresh taste of this. It didn't need the lettuce or onions in my opinion. The lemon aioli and toastiness of the brioche bun makes me rate it #1 in my book, so far.
You can check out Leary's Landing here: https://www.learyslanding.com/ @learyslanding
The next day was about lobster as well. We headed to Boothbay Harbor to catch the Bennie Alice to Cabbage Island. What's so special about Cabbage Island? First, everyone is welcoming and friendly; they do hospitality super well. Second, they do a traditional New England Clambake!
It is quite a feast! The menu is fish chowder, 2 lobsters, steamers (clams), corn on the cob, potato, onion, egg, blueberry cake. This is for one person! The entire experience is quite unique. You can watch them do the cooking which is done by steaming everything over layers of seaweed. They have this down to a science and they feed approx. 160-200 people twice a day very efficiently.
You can check out Cabbage Island Clambakes here: https://www.cabbageislandclambake.com/home-3
Even after some amazing lobster, I wasn't done yet. I needed to do a comparison for the lobster roll. While visiting Old Orchard Beach we were told that The Shack was the place to go for lobster rolls, so off we went. The Shack sounded more like a lobster roll place than an Irish Pub and they definitely do have good lobster rolls. I ordered the Maine Lobster Roll which is Maine lobster with mayo and lettuce. I asked for no lettuce. After the lobster roll at Leary's Landing it didn't seem needed. It was enjoyable and yummy, but I found myself wanting the freshness of that first lobster roll. So this rates as #2.
Check out The Shack here: @theshackoob
After only eating lobster rolls with mayo, I believe I may be a convert to lobster rolls with butter. More experiments need to take place for me to fully commit so we will see where the next lobster roll adventure takes me.
Lobster adventures await!!
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