Recently, J took a trip to Maine and made it her mission to eat lobster at least once a day for every day she was there. Here are the results.
Day 1:
After two flights and six hours in the car with my family, I’m beginning to hope this lobster is worth all the hassle. With three hours left to our final destination of Bar Harbor, I convince my parents to make a pit stop for lunch in Kennebunkport, Maine, at The Clam Shack, which has lobster rolls repeatedly voted the best in America. The little white shack sits along the water in the center of downtown, and you order at the window and find a picnic table to sit at.
Now, if you know anything about lobster rolls, you know there is a lot of debate about how to serve them – with butter, with mayo, with both, naked, etc. I went with the option for both, so a thin layer of mayo is spread on the bun and warm butter is poured over the lobster. When I finally received my lobster roll after what felt like an eternity of waiting (ok, it was like 10 minutes but the anticipation!), I took a bite and suddenly I knew this lobster was worth two crazy days of travel. Large meaty chunks of both tail and claw meat were piled high on a toasted homemade roll, with just the right amount of mayo and butter. The lobster was so sweet and fresh tasting, and knew I had found my heaven. You can actually learn more about The Clam Shack’s lobster roll here, which is how I found out about it.
Later that night, after we had checked into the cabin and settled in, we went into Bar Harbor for a quick snack since we had had a late lunch at The Clam Shack. None of us were that hungry, but I convinced my mom to order some Lobster Chowder so I could have some of it. It was creamy, and had big chunks of lobster in it, along with potatoes, corn and onions. Perfect for a chilly night in Maine.
Day 2:
After a day of biking through Acadia National Park and sipping on Maine blueberry margaritas at happy hour, the family has decided they feel like pizza for dinner. Why pizza, I have no idea. One of my sisters and I are not thrilled with this idea. “Do they have lobster pizza?” I ask. I receive a snide comment from my brother. We walk to the pizza place and find only traditional pizza toppings. This will not do. I can’t ruin my daily lobster streak on day two! Thanks to Yelp, I locate another pizza place, Pat’s Pizza, right around the corner. We walk down there and find a sign outside advertising lobster pizza. Success!
My sister and I order a lobster pizza to split. The fam jam stays with traditional cheese. Boring! The lobster pizza was a thin crust pizza topped with an alfredo sauce, lobster chunks, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella cheese. It was so good! The alfredo sauce had a rich, buttery taste, and the roasted red peppers were a nice complement to the sweet lobster. The family was not that impressed with their cheese pizza. I don’t feel bad. My lobster pizza was awesome.
Day 3:
My mom has been craving lobster mac and cheese and suggests we find a place for lunch that has it. I don’t disagree. Who doesn’t love lobster mac? We find Side Street Café, which apparently has “award-winning mac and cheese.” I was sold. My mom, sister, and I order the large portion of Lobster Mac and Cheese to split. It was plenty for us. The dish consists of pasta shells, a rich, three-cheese creamy sauce, and of course, huge chunks of lobster. It was amazing. I couldn’t stop eating it. Aaaand now I’m craving it. Maine, why must you be so far?
Day 4:
Day four is spent hiking and exploring the cliffs and rocky coastline in Acadia National Park. After all this physical activity, I’m ready for a big ol’ lobstah dinner. We found a nice little restaurant called The Chart Room right outside of Bar Harbor because my brother and littlest sister wanted steak since they don’t eat seafood (I know, they suck). I decide this will be the night I attempt to tackle a whole boiled lobster. I have never cracked a lobster myself, but I figured this was as good a time as ever to learn. Luckily, the little buddy came with instructions. I tackle the claws first. I struggle a little bit with the first one but then get the hang out of it and am able to extract the sweet, sweet meat and dip it in melted butter. I’m telling you, nothing tastes better than the meat from a lobster that was just alive and is now sitting on your plate. Sorry not sorry, PETA. (Wait, does PETA even care about lobsters?)
Next up was the tail. Not going to lie, my dad has to help me extract it from the shell. I tried but it was a little difficult, but worth it once we got it. Also, sweet and meaty. But here is the part not for the squeamish. The lobster’s liver (?) turns into this green goo (which some people consider a delicacy, I just tried not to look at it) that spills out when you open its body. Some people will eat the meat from the sides of the body but between the goo and seeing inside of him, I had had enough. The best meat is in the tail and the claws anyway. I’m glad I learned how to crack a lobster, but you definitely have to work for your meal!
Side note: Other than the lobster, the food wasn’t great at The Chart Room. My sibs were not impressed by their steaks and the sides were pretty lackluster.
Day 5:
My brother, not happy after the lobster lollipop attack
Guys, I did a terrible thing and I’m still ashamed of it. I screwed everything up. I didn’t eat lobster on day five!! I tried to redeem myself and you can decide if it counts or not. But let me say, this is not my fault! We had planned to go canoeing so we just picked up sandwiches on the way (and unfortunately the market didn’t have lobster salad), which was fine. But what I didn’t know was that we had also planned to grill out chicken at the house that night for dinner.
After dinner, as I lay around lamenting the loss of a day of lobster, I notice my brother has a lobster-shaped lollipop. I zone in on him like a hawk and scream “my daily lobster!” and lunge at him with the help of my sister, who pins him down. I grab the lollipop and try it (it was cherry flavored), and feel slightly better knowing that technically I had had my daily lobster.
Day 6:
While driving around the less touristy side of the island, we find Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bass Harbor. It looked like a great local place, and was right on the water. We go in for lunch and find some of the best prices on lobster we had seen yet. (Bar Harbor, on the touristy side of the island, definitely had the touristy prices). I debate between a Lobster BLT and a Lobster Roll, but settle on the BLT since it is something I hadn’t had before (and come on, lobster AND bacon? Two of my favorite things combined).
The bread was whole wheat and toasted, and the sandwich was packed with bacon and chunks of lobster tossed lightly in mayo. It was delicious, but I have to say, the bacon did overpower the taste of the lobster. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also stole a bite of my dad’s lobster roll, which was amazing as well. If you’re ever visiting Bar Harbor, I highly recommend you make the drive to Bass Harbor on the other side of the island and hit up Thurston’s.
Day 7:
Our last day! Wah. Also, Fourth of July. We went to Bar Harbor’s Fourth of July festival where we watched lobster races! Hilarious. My favorite was a lobster named Rum Runner. I cheered him on and he won! Then to celebrate, I ate his brethren. We found a little deli in downtown that had lobster rolls with tarragon mayo. They sounded delicious, but sadly I was a little disappointed. Some of the lobster in the roll was pretty strong tasting and the mayo didn’t taste very herby at all. Not the best note to end my lobster week on, but I can’t complain because everything else was amazing, and even after 7 days of lobster, I still love it and would eat it over and over again!
Pandas heart lobsters.
Black Panda Supper Club 