Is there a place in San Diego to get a good lobster roll? I'll be there at Christmas and would love to try this culinary treat!

The US West Coast is not known for its lobster (there is a local, claw less spiny lobster but it is not what you get in Maine).

Notwithstanding, here is a place in the Liberty Market that brings in their lobster gfrom Maine:

http://libertypublicmarket.com/artis...maine-lobster/

It's disappointing to see that Joe's Boathouse in South Portland closed. I had several very good meals there over the years

+infinity. Absolutely the best I've ever had.

I freely admit that I prefer lobster rolls without Old Bay, but it doesn't ruin them for me if there's a tiny bit.

But now I want to try Eventide - a brown butter lobster roll sounds killer!

And then there's this roll of a different color:

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RIW...2680/o.0.0.jpg

I hope that's squid ink bread or at least a cow pattie and not
something disgusting like pumpernickel.

The bun is a house-baked bun at the restaurant Hinoki and the Bird in Los Angeles. The color is from a small infusion of super-fine edible charcoal dust (from bamboo and cocoanut shells).

Some people seem enamored of "creativity" for the sake of creativity alone.

I'm not one of them.

Vive la difference!

I think I get your point. The one thing here is that these kinds of dishes are what that restaurant is all about. It's not just some wise guy doing a one time gimmick to get free publicity.

I entirely understand this. OTOH, I was once the victim of a "creative" presentation of a plain ol' chicken leg and thigh at a trendy eatery in Houston. Scrawny, dry, and way overpriced at about $15, a la carte.

One of the best meals I've ever eaten was at the Ralph Lauren restaurant in Chicago - brunch, simple omelette, but prepared absolutely flawlessly with the best, freshest ingredients possible, accompanied by superb baked goods and several varieties of mimosas along with strong, aromatic coffee. I went in thinking the price was ridiculously high; left wondering how I'd managed to score such a great meal for such a low price.

Simple meals prepared perfectly can be about the best food available. Too many restaurateurs fail to recognize this fact.

Case in point: Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, where the star dish is a perfectly-roasted whole chicken. They're really fanatical about sourcing the birds, not too big not too small. Seasoned with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, nothing else. Roasted in a super hot brick oven, turned in the oven halfway in the cooking process. Perfection.

The place will turn 30 years old next year.

Did you send it back? Bad food needs to be challenged, trendy or no.

I frequently stay at a family-run hotel in the Azores where they cook the breakfast fresh each day. Somehow the lady who cooks breakfast turns the lowly scrambled egg into magic. I don't normally even eat scrambled eggs, but the older lady who does these has some technique that leaves me practically licking the plate. I asked her to show me one time, and it looks so simple, but I just can't duplicate hers.

So yes, I agree - great cooks make all the difference and they can make the simplest things taste astoundingly good. It's a talent I would dearly love to have - I love to cook, but, alas, I'm not a cook.

I was dining with my adult daughter, who thought the meal delightful. So, no. :p