Ye Olde Lobster Roll
New England Trip #6
Seafood is clearly central to the regional identity of New England and lobster appears to be king. Growing up in Montana we had Rocky Mountain Oysters readily available, but not a lot of fresh lobster. Even in Seattle with its myriad of fresh fish and seafood options, lobster stayed far from center stage; appearing only occasionally on a menu and the often as part of a surf-n-turf paring listed at “market price.”
My budget usually means I don’t even both to ask what “market price” might be.
Truthfully, I’d never even heard of a lobster roll until I set foot in Connecticut, but it became evident immediately that any trip to New England that didn’t include a lobster roll was woefully incomplete.
A little reading informed me that much of New England serves up lobster rolls cold with the lobster tosses with a little mayo: a lobster salad sandwich if you will. Yet Connecticut prides itself on its hot lobster rolls that are nothing but lobster drenched in melted butter on a bun. No mayo, no diced celery for crunch, no nothing but lobster, butter, and bread.
The more I read the more I realized that the best lobster rolls probably were not to be found in sit-down, white-linen, big-check establishments. Instead I realized the best would probably be found at some small seafood shack near the shore where you ordered at a window and ate at a picnic table or at least on a plastic chair.
Zagat’s probably lists a high-end spot willing to put a lobster roll on the menu, but I turned instead to Yelp and Road Food to find the perfect spot for a stellar example of ye olde lobster roll. Road Food came through for me with a promising hole-in-the-wall recommendation in Old Saybrook, CT.
Johnny Ad’s also serves up hot dogs that have taken home awards, but I refused to be distracted from my objective: a great HOT lobster roll ($15.50). A clear birch beer was a bonus.
The purist clam pizza might be a learned craving. The hot lobster roll? Not so much. It took all of a bite for me to decide this could easily become an obsession.
Johnny’s has been open since 1957 which suggests that a number of locals probably agree since you certainly don’t head to Johnny’s for ambiance.
