I love a good lobster roll. Thankfully, we have a fishmonger in town who regularly drives up to Maine, and a lobster roll food truck will be coming to town next weekend 
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One of the small number of things that are difficult to source and pricey here on the left coast.
I LOVE a good lobster roll, where âgoodâ = not screwed up with celery or other extenders.
The filling should be lobster in butter (warm) or mayo (cool) + salt and pepper to taste. Full stop. (A little chopped parsley if you insist on being all âfull service restaurant about it.).
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McLoons, featured in the linked article, is a 10 minute walk from where I rent in the summer so I loved reading this, thank you!
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I still donât understand why the other kind of roll/hot dog bun exists. I am always annoyed at every backyard BBQ, picnic, where they use those sideway buns.
I donât love lobster (see the lobster salad story in another thread), but a lobster roll is one of the few ways I prefer to eat it. I didnât get any lobster on my recent trip to Maine, but last summer in Ogunquit, I made it a point to try several âfamousâ places within the town for taste comparison. It was probably the most lobster Iâd had in the previous 5 years combined.
Iâm surprised the article mentions this as a ârecentâ trend. I thought lobster and lobster rolls were always popular. Maybe not popping up on a lot of menus outside of the New England and the East coastal areas makes sense. Every lobster place in Ogunquit had crazy lines for sure - many even lining up before they opened for lunch.
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Iâve lived in New England since 1989 - and yes, theyâve always been a regular thing to get as a summer meal at least once a season (I canât eat it anymore, as itâs too rich for my gut). So the picture caption of âMcLoons opened in 2012. Since then, lobster rolls have attained celebrity status across the country.â seems a bit weird to me. But maybe Lukeâs Lobster trucks throughout the country have pushed their popularity even higher.
But anyone whoâs been in New England for any length of time knows lobster rolls are pretty much everywhere in all iterations.
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I know I had one on my honeymoon in Bangor, ME in May/June of 1990. We also visited the Ben and Jerryâs factory in VT, before it got sold to Unilever.
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And donât forget our own personal regional and seasonal specialty, the McDonaldâs lobster roll⌠Yikes. That is one I hope they donât think of reviving, ever.
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Sometimes, Panera does a lobster roll, too⌠
Lobster rolls have taken on a cult status. Iâm happy for the lobster fishers and seasonal shacks to profit from the demand. But, making your own is a piece of cake. Many lobster pounds sell meat by the pound.
To get the best and freshest lobster roll, buy where you can see a pool of live lobsters.
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I donât think Iâve had one in at least a year. Maybe two. I might have the local Star market steam me a lobster and make my own some time between now and Labor Day. BF prefers crab and shrimp, so if I get lobster itâs usually just for me these days. I got him to go to Essex last spring/summer and I got fried clams and he ended up with crab cakes. 
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For a lobster roll, the only thing going in it is lobster. So you want the split top bun so you have a lot of âsideâ, that can be grilled for that grilled-cheese-like crispy exterior. You want that contrast.
The traditional sideways hot dog bun is good for hot dogs and sausages. They are often much more elaborately dressed, and the side âhingeâ allows it to spread wider to accommodate the larger jumbo dog or sausage, chilli, pickles, onions, or whatever your regional toppings of choice are. Trying to stuff a fully loaded Chicago dog into a split-top roll will end with a torn apart roll and tears.
My hot dogs and sausages split in the side loader too, unless someone is using a larger, sturdier hoagie/sub roll. I donât think itâs the side load thatâs the problem; they just needed sturdier buns than the softer, smaller buns that tear with little moisture. Many NE places use the top loader for a hotdog and it makes more sense. No dogs and toppings rolling out when you put it down. Even the side loading hot dogs buns from the food stands need a special holder that keeps it side-up so the filling doesnât spill out.
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Exactly - if you load a hot dog up with chili, cheese, sautĂŠed onions, etc., if you donât have the edge of a plate to lean it against, or have them lined up so theyâre leaning against each other, itâs gonna tip over and ooze out.
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Thatâs what the little plastic baskets are for!!!
I cannot see a lobster thread without linking to a lobster fishermanâs Youtube channel where he documents his more interesting catches. He does not just catch and keep legal catch lobster while releasing the rest, he removes life threatening barnacles from the lobsters he cannot keep and has to release. And he gives them a snack to take home with them.
An incredibly tough job and lobster fishermen have protected both their prey and their preyâs environment for generations.
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@ZivBnd thanks for linking that, I loved it!!
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Local restaurant offering a Cantonese cooking inspired lobster roll. Looks a bit too mayo heavy for my tatses (itâs a scallion oil mayo), but I have to admit Iâm tempted.
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