Lobster rolls have become the cupcake of the sea

[jpak]

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/06/20/living/food/lobster-rolls-have-become-the-cupcake-of-the-sea/

Lobster, the emperor of crustaceans, is on a roll — a roll of near-record-high prices.

A pound of picked lobster meat, the sweet, plump, exquisite ambrosia we like to cradle in a buttery split bun, requires more labor and as many as six lobsters to produce — and it sold for as much as $45 wholesale this spring compared with $17 three years ago.

Celebrated Red’s Eats, close to the source in postcard-perfect Wiscasset, Maine, bills itself as the “World’s Best Lobster Shack.” Red’s is charging about $22.50 per roll, after the price soared to $26.50 in May, the highest Deborah Gagnon has seen in four decades of her family operating the business, due to “the extremely cold weather we had. People were wearing winter jackets in May!”

Purveyors — pardon the expression — feel the pinch. “The bane of my existence,” sighs Doug Povich, a recovering lawyer, who operates two Red Hook Lobster Pound DC trucks and a kiosk — a glorified hot dog cart. He made an infographic to help explain to his customers why his rolls cost nearly $17.

<more>

[Happyhippychick]

1. Just had one today in Cape May

[jpak]

2. I have one every summer

yum

[angstlessk]

3. In Rhode Island we had logistino rolls almost as good as lobster

back about 40 years ago there was also a restaurant, in Rhode Island, that had all you can eat lobster for about 29.99 each...also had crabs, and ripe fruit (I mean plums that were darker on the inside), and shrimp heads...included in the price...

When my mother visited we went, but the line was too long...her loss...I knew how good it was and was willing to wait, but conveying that message was difficult!

[Wawannabe]

4. I had lobster tacos

Earlier this year.
I was in MO so it was Red Lobster.
In my humble opinion - they did a good job with them. $12 for 3.

[politicat]

5. My aunt grew up on the Maine coast, when lobster was a poverty food.

She makes the very best lobster rolls I've ever had, but she is always a bit ashamed of them because lobster was what the poor kids ate when work was short. They were a reliable protein when nothing else was within the family budget.

I now live 1000 miles from any coast and several thousand feet above a sea level, so lobster and most seafood gives me a similar, but different shame -- that's too many carbon miles for my conscience.

I will admire your photo of tasty, buttery, sweet crustacean goodness. They're worth every penny.

[DFW]

6. We are heading for Cape Cod soon

Over the years, we've seen lobster rolls go from about $4 to close to $20 in Provincetown.

Oh, well. It's our vacation, dammit. I bust my ass all year to be able to spend a few weeks chilling out in the tranquil bastion of libbruls and lobsters, and if it costs a few bucks more this year than last, well so be it. It's all local businesses and this is not Long Island. You won't find a lot of affluence among the locals here. I'm happy to support the local businesses while I can. If we are going to travel 4000 miles to get there, I'm not going to quibble about the food bill.

[seaglass]

10. My husband just had one 2 weeks ago in S. Yarmouth. Can't remember the price but I had a taste

and it was fantastic. Skipper Chowder House.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g41841-d384674-Reviews-Skipper_Chowder_House-South_Yarmouth_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html

[DFW]

11. I don't know that area much

But it's on the Cape, and there's NO part of the Cape I know of that is bad. We always head out near the tip, to Truro. There's very little going on out there, which is exactly what we're looking for.

[seaglass]

12. We just bought a house in S Yarmouth 1.5 years ago, south of 28 so this is in our

neighborhood. Still trying to decide if we will retire here (that was our original intention) but it is a ghost town from Oct-May. Not sure if I like that.

I love the Truro and Wellfleet areas but not for us for retirement.

[DFW]

13. The Cape is a different world in winter

I don't think I'd like that much either.

I think if I ever retire back to the States (and right now, I might get around to it at age 90, but maybe not that soon), I'd be in Truro in the summer and maybe Boston in the winter. I prefer warm climates, but my wife said she'd go stir crazy if we spent months on the Big Island (Kona side) of Hawaii, which is where I'd like to go. She doesn't want to leave Germany anyway, so we're here for a good while yet, and there's always down the road in Switzerland for a compromise. Getting a residence permit there is not easy, but we have enough Swiss friends and speak the right languages, so I think we could manage it. I don't think we'll give up visiting the Cape ever, and we've been doing it every year since 1984.

[bif]

15. I love Truro

We vacationed there several years in a row when our girls were young.

[Duppers]

7. Has anyone ever had Lobster Dien Bien?

My favorite food ever! Hands down. It's heavenly.

The restaurants in Yorktown have stopped serving it. I now know why.


http://seafood.betterrecipes.com/lobster-dien-bien.html

[DinahMoeHum]

8. Love the hot buttery rolls. Not the cold ones with mayo.

And I know a couple of food trucks in my area that sell them. I try to have at least 1 or 2 of them every summer.

[NightWatcher]

9. I just discovered there's a Legal Seafood in Atlanta. I'd eaten there in Boston before

and didn't know they'd made it down south. I know it's not the best Lobster Roll but it was pretty good

[alarimer]

14. This stems in part from the 2012 lobster glut.

There was a lot available and prices for lobster were low (good for wholesalers, bad for fishermen). But this year, prices have been historically high (in large part due to low supplies in winter). Now that the season is in full swing, prices should moderate on the wholesale level. Not that that translates to lower prices at restaurants at all.

[zanana1]

16. I don't like lobster.

I know that's like setting the flag on fire, but I just don't like the taste.

[smirkymonkey]

17. I love lobster rolls, both the cold and the hot versions. I live in New England so

we get the best of the best here. The only thing I don't like is the very end of the claw - the flabby part. It's kind of a gross texture and totally flavorless.

[Skittles]

18. GROSS