What used to be “poor people” food, lobster sandwiches that
were eagerly traded for peanut butter and jam in school yards, have evolved
into an iconic Maritime and New England menu item. Even McDonalds golden arches
sported a McLobster Roll until this year when the price of lobster
pushed it out of their demographic. People are passionate about what is right
or wrong about different versions and everyone has their favourite
restaurant/cafe/food truck/pub source. When we are in the Maritimes, we eat
lobster rolls as often as we can manage it. Don’t be fooled because it’s
seafood, this is not a diet meal. Lobster is very rich and a lobster roll
includes mayonnaise, white bread, coleslaw, and often french fries; quite the combo
for the school-girl waistline and complexion.
Some chefs get too creative with the ingredients, some use
rolls that are too big or dense, some put in too much lettuce. There is a long
list of “too” meaning, NOT RIGHT. By the way, lobster should never be hot. UGH.
The body count so far this trip, (I mean the pounds added to
the body and we didn’t even get to the two most highly recommended on PEI: The
Lobster Barn in Victoria, and Dave’s in Charlottetown) includes but is not limited to:
Gahan Waterfront in Halifax: dill seasoning and too much
bread. Who puts dill with lobster? Crazy.
Irving Big Stop, Aulac: too much mayo so no longer the best
Fisherman’s Wharf, North Rustico: too skimpy and in a wrap
instead of bread. Really?
Irving Big Stop, Truro: too big a bun/roll
The Grand Manan ferry: excellent
Brakish Bar and Grill, Charlottetown: outstanding!
How is perfect defined? It’s a simple recipe: a toasted
top-split white hot dog roll, which I understand doesn’t exist everywhere; a
generous amount of lobster, medium to small dice; enough mayo to moisten but not
drown the lobster; a tiny amount of
lettuce in the bottom of the roll to stop the juice from absorbing into the
roll. And that is it. I also had a lobster flatbread dish and a lobster pizza.
You are allowed to be creative with those, but NOT a lobster roll.
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| Perfection at Brakish |
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| Dill and too much bun at Gahan, Halifax |
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| Pretty darned good on the Grand Manan ferry, and the cheapest at $12.00. |
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| Lobster dinner with the rellies in Saint John. |
1 comment:
I can't believe I spent three weeks Maritimes and didn't have a lobster roll! What was I thinking... I will have to go back!
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