roknroll

I decided on Lobster Claw II, and it was great. It was $16.95 for the lobster salad roll. Came on a standard buttered/toasted New England style hot dog bun with a very small amount of leaf lettuce. I usually don't like lettuce on my roll, but this was actually good. It's usually chunky iceberg or romaine when I've had it, and the crunch detracts from the bun and lobster.

At first glance it looked very mayonnaise-ie and sort of like mush, but it really wasn't that when when eating it. Also there was no other filler like celery, green onion, etc. This one appeared to be made entirely from claw meat, and I counted at least 6 whole claws on the roll, along with some broken up claw. I think this is also why it appeared a little more mushy, as the claw pieces that were broken up were meant no big chunks of lobster tail.

Lobster was very sweet and fresh. Like it a lot, but not totally sure if I liked the all claw style. I kind of like the texture/meatiness of the tails chunks. But this one was a melt in your mouth type roll.

roknroll

You know, I might just make this stop. Looking at flight options, and I'll probably be flying in and out of PWM. I'll be landing late at night, so I'll miss it on my drive up to Augusta. But if I can give myself enough time on the way back to the airport it seems like it's right on the way. Might be enough time to run in and get one to go. Looks beautiful there, it's a shame I probably won't be able to eat it there and enjoy the view.

roknroll

This week I was driving along the same route, and stupidly decided to not go to back to Lobster Claw II which I knew had a great lobster roll. I wanted to sample somewhere else for comparisson purposes, and was sorely disapointed. Ended up going to Tinker's Seafood in Manchester. The lobster was good/sweet, but it was on bulky french roll where the bread took over. I ended up tearing off about half of the bread in order to get a good ratio of lobster/bread in each bite. Overall less meat than at Lobster Claw II, similar flavor, but much worse bread.

Out of my Element

Sheesh, that reminds me of the old McLobster they had back in the mid 90's at McDonalds

Yahtzee

Slightly off topic, but I went to Yankee Lobster in the Boston seaport yesterday for the first time. Delicious - generous serving, little to no filling, $18.99. Right next to the Harpoon Brewery and restaurant has it on tap so must be fresh. No frills dining though.

evergrn

I've had lobster rolls up and down the coast from Cape Cod to Portland, as well as at different places in Boston (Neptune Oyster, Belle's Isle, Legal's, Alive & Kicking). Still think the best place is Kelly's Roast Beef. Good amount for what you pay, not much mayo, and the bread is tasty. Tastes the same whether you go to Revere Beach, Everett/Medford or Natick.

Never been to Yankee Lobster, though.

Efrem

Not really contributing anything, but when I saw the title of this thread I thought is was about a sporting event sort of like an Easter Egg roll, except that it takes place on Interstate highways. Maybe lobsters are easier to roll there than on the grass? Do they use the breakdown lanes, or close the road to traffic? Then I read it ...

Out of my Element

Kelly's?

Frozen claw and knuckle meat?


Belle Isle (and all the others) puts that to shame.

evergrn

You like Belle Isle? I know a lot of people regard them highly, but I don't understand it. They use a little too much mayo and also use quite a bit of lettuce which is distracting. And for whatever reason, their lobster meat lacked flavor. The lobster meat in Kelly's lobster roll is always full of flavor.

Out of my Element

You can ask for no mayo, and the one leaf of lettuce is too much lettuce?

I'll always take fresh picked lobster (Belle Isle, Yankee, Hook, even Legal) over frozen, like Kelly's.

Heck, even Sullivan's (for $9.99) has a better lobster roll than Kelly's.

I've never had a flavorless lobster roll at Belle Isle, and I've been there dozens of times.

roknroll

Okay, back for round 3 tomorrow. Will be leaving Lebanon NH around noonish and flying out of BOS (with rental car return) at 5:30pm. Anyone have a suggestion that fits my timeline for an outstanding lobster roll? I figure I have about 2 hours to spare for detour/parking/eating.

I'm very tempted to just go back to Lobster Claw II, but I always love trying new things. Must have lots of fresh lobster and a NE hot dog bun. I like them either with mayo or naked with drawn butter. Prefer no lettuce but I don't have any problem just taking it off myself.

Right now I'm leaning towards Belle Isle Seafood in Winthrop which was mentioned earlier in the thread. I'll actually be back in Boston for a conference in 2 weeks, staying next to the convention center for several nights (no car). Figure that will give me an opportunity to try some of the downtown/waterfront lobster rolls. But since I have a rental car I'd prefer outside DT Boston.

Canarsie

Have you tried the original Lobster Claw on highway 28 in North Reading, Massachusetts — otherwise known to me as No Reading, MA where books are not allowed?

I never had a lobster roll there; but they used to sell fried lobster, which was surprisingly good.

roknroll

Ended up at Belle Isle Seafood and really enjoyed it. One big plus is that it is RIGHT next to BOS and offers great views of the water as well as the tarmac. The lobster roll had the most lobster I've had on any roll and was very fresh and sweet. The bun was lacking, though, and I think I still give my #1 spot to Lobster Claw II. I would say Belle Isle had at least 1.5 lobsters in my roll and maybe even 2 full lobsters. I counted 4 completely intact claws along with a lot of tail meat in large chunks.




My biggest gripe was the bun. It seemed tiny, but that may have been due to the enormous amount of lobster with it. I had to eat it with a knife and fork, which to me was fine. Biggest gripe about the bun was that it was grilled on an actual grill, instead of buttered/toasted on a flat top. The outside of the bun wasn't as toasty/crispy and there was a distinct char/burnt taste where the grill marks were. It's the char/burnt that you typically love on grilled meats, but with the sweet lobster and fresh bread it sort of took over.

Next week I'll be trying out Yankee near the convention center and will report back.

roknroll

Picture coming but yankee lobster was very good. Very small amount of lettuce tiny bit of chive and we'll dressed lobster in large chunks. Bread was good too. Lobster wasn't quite as sweet/fresh as belle isle but bun and dressing were better. Lobster claw 2 still my favorite. If I could have belle isle lobster with a traditional bun then they'd win hands down

imslippy

I'll be in BOS next Saturday. I must visit one of these places
/me goes to look for some food