Maine Lobster Tour Day 2 & 3 - 8/2/2014 & 8/3/2014 3.5-4.5 Forks

Maine Lobster Tour Day 2 and 3 - Overall 4 Forks

The Lobster Shack - 110 Perkins Cove Rd., Ogunquit, ME 03907 - 3.5 Forks

Day 2 of our Maine lobster tour had us in the very cute but very crowded town of Ognunquit.  It's a lovely beach side town about 20 minutes south of Kennebunkport and the streets are lined with tons of adorable B&Bs, brunch spots and cheesey tourist boutiques.  I can see why it's a popular family destination.  At the end of the main road is Perkins Cove, which is home to 2 of the town's famous lobster places:  The Lobster Shack and Foot Bridge Lobster.  They are next door to each other and literally at the foot of the bridge.  We were initially going to try both places but we only ended up being able to make room for 1 place and The Lobster Shack won out.  We, of course, got the lobster roll ($15), which during lunch time, you also get a free cup of fish chowder!  Then Janet also got a cup of the lobster stew ($10), a corn on the cob ($2)  and I got an order of the steamers ($15).   Given all the lobster I ate yesterday, I was most excited for the steamers and they did not disappoint.  There was a huge pile of them and it was served with the traditional hot water and butter sides.  I understand why not everyone likes them but I was a huge fan of them and these had a nice briny, sea salty taste to it that I really enjoyed.  The lobster roll here was also 1/4 lb of meat served with light mayo on a toasted bun.  At this point, all the rolls were kind of blending together but Janet had mentioned that this one was her least favorite.   I also tried a bite of the lobster stew and there was almost another 1/4 lb of lobster chunks in there.  Janet felt like it need more salt and pepper to it - meanwhile I was indulging in the free fish chowder and it was also very meaty and filling.  I didn't think mine needed any extra seasoning but I generally don't add to much extra S&P to my dishes.  The corn was beautiful and clearly freshly picked but it didn't quite have the sweetness that I typically like in corn.  Overall, it was still a nice sit down place for lunch (this place was an actual restaurant vs. a shack on the side of the road) and it's a good end point for when you are down exploring Ogunquit.  It wasn't our absolute favorite of the trip but it wasn't a bad choice necessarily.   Total bill:  $55

Eventide  -  86 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101 - 4.5 Forks 

This review will be for the one place where we did NOT get lobster!  Gasp.  Plus it's the one really nice sit down meal we had on the entire trip.  I was excited to check out Portland because of it's burgeoning food scene.  It's really got some serious restaurants in town and I was bummed I couldn't try them all. But Janet and I were originally suckered into Eventide based on their gorgeous website.  It's a very clean and aesthetically pleasing site.  We were also excited because it sounded like they had the best oysters in town.  So of course, there is a long wait to this place, even at 6pm.  We ended up waiting about 45 minutes for a seat.  There are actually only 3 tables inside and then several bar seats by the window and then 3-4 tables outside, so it's not a very big place.  When we sat down, we asked the people next to us if they liked their lobster roll and instead of saying "YES!"  they said "We really liked the fried Hake - so not a real rousing endorsement.  Plus I was sick of lobster at this point and was up for trying something new.  So we ordered a dozen oysters ($29) which were mostly local Maine selections, the crab roll, the fried hake, and the tuna crudo.   Surprisingly the fried hake and crab roll came out first.  The crab roll was amazing!  It was served on this delicious bread that was kind of like the mantou buns you get in Chinese restaurants.  It was super soft and pillowy and the crab inside was fresh and had a lot of seasoning and flavor to it.  It kind of made me think if we should have gotten the lobster roll because I'm sure it would have been just as good.   Next we moved on to the fried hake.  Oh my was this an outstanding fried dish.  It was basically 4 big balls of hake but the outside had a nice light flakey batter and it was served with a fantastic homemade tartar.  The fish was moist and tender on the inside.  Delicious.  Next came the oysters and honestly I can't remember the names of them but they were all great and it was served with a red onion ice and horseradish.  Lastly we moved on to the tuna crudo which was served with ginger scallion and radish.  Another winning dish. The tuna was clean and melted in your mouth while the ginger scallion really helped to round out the taste of it.   And for dessert, we couldn't help ourselves and we got the ice cream sandwich which was homemade vanilla ice cream sandwich in between two soft chocolate chip cookies  It had the right balance of softness but also it wasn't super melty or messy.  The cookies really held up well against the ice cream.  

I'll also do a plug for the waitstaff here.  I'm not sure if it's a Maine thing or what, but all the waitresses were beautiful in this Earthy crunchy way but also super nice and friendly.  I really enjoyed my meal here despite the long wait and would totally come back to sample the rest of the fantastic sounding menu.  I should also note that they have a fantastic wine and cocktail menu as well.  Total bill:  $112 with tax, tip and wine

The Clam Shack - 2 Western Ave., Kennebunk, ME 04043 - 4 Forks

Sob - our last meal of the trip was in Kennebunkport and also very famous for winning lots of awards for best lobster roll.  It's located in the middle of the town square and it's also a very unassuming shack.  We got there right when it opened and unlike at Red's there was hardly any wait and the service was fast and very efficient.  We had our last lobster roll ($17) and ordered a 1/2 pint of fried shrimp ($13) and a small order of fries ($3) - which I am shocked that we managed to make the whole weekend without ordering once.   They have a market where you can buy your own lobster or raw fish and next to that they have a small outdoor area with several benches.  

My first impression of the lobster roll was that it wasn't in a roll but rather a hamburger bun.  It really should have been called a lobster bun.  I thought the lobster meat here was the best and most flavorful of all the shacks we tried on the trip. It was clearly still fresh and they didn't fuss too much with the meat but there was just something about it that I just really enjoyed more than the others.  There was also a touch of mayo to this one as well.  I personally enjoyed the bun bread while Janet would have preferred that it was more toasted.  It was very similar to a potato roll bun which I love!  The fried shrimp were nice and tasty - very similar to a popcorn shrimp texture but they weren't too greasy or overbattered.  They were really easy to keep popping in your mouth.  As for the fries - I loved them because they are the thick krinkly kind that sort of reminded me of elementary school.  But they were crisp and light but I was glad this was the only place we got them because othewise, I would have spent the whole weekend shoving fries in my mouth.  The whole experience was great until I heard the owner of the restaurant berate this couple sitting behind us.  It sounded like while the guy bought food from the shack the girl had gotten take out from another restaurant.  I get that the owner would be a bit peeved for having them bring outside food but instead of just politely asking them to leave, he proceeded to tell the girl how the restaurant where she got her food sucked and that they use frozen lobster and why would she come to Maine to not eat at their place and have frozen food instead? Eventually he "convinced" her to let him throw her entire meal in the garbage and for her to try one of his lobster rolls (hopefully it was free of charge).   Obviously, it's his space and he can do what he wants but I just felt really bad for the girl who was clearly a tourist and being food shamed for simply making a different choice.   While I would absolutely eat here again, I would just make sure to only have their food while sitting on the bench to avoid being yelled at in public.  Total bill:  $41

Final word on the trip:  It was f*cking awesome.  Not just because of the food but Maine is lovely, quaint and a nice peaceful retreat from the city.  It is kind of an old person vacation, so if you're looking for a rowdy time, you should look else where.  But if you are a food lover, definitely check it out.  While I feel like I'm not an expert on lobster rolls, I do know now what I should look for in a classic purist roll. 

Maine Lobster Tour Day 1 - 8/1/2014 3.5-4 Forks

Maine Lobster Tour Day 1 - Overall Experience 4 Forks

First Stop:  Red's Eats - 41 Main St, Wiscasset, ME 04578 - 3.5 Forks

The first stop on my whirlwind lobster tour of Maine was the famous Red's Eats.  It's probably on every "must visit" Maine lobster tour list and has gotten accolades on almost every single food blog and mainstream food publication.  So of course it had to be the 1st stop on my Maine tour.  Being the most famous lobster shack in all of Maine does have its downsides - which I'll get to in a second.

But first, this stand (it's literally a stand with 1 window) is located about 1 1/2 hours from Kennebunkport (which was where I was staying) in a cute town called Wiscasset.  There are a few cute antique shops and local mom and pop markets but there's really not much else to it.  Janet and I got to Red's exactly when it opened, 11:30 AM, and there was already a line that snaked down the block.  I was hoping that the line would move fairly quickly considering most people in line were probably going to order the same thing, the lobster roll.  But this place was horribly inefficient and is an operations professor's worst nightmare.  There is only 1 window and the same person who is taking the orders is also serving the guests.  No wonder it took forever for the line to move.  We literally waited an hour to get up to the front of the line, order and to get our food.  For that alone, I really had to knock off 1/2 a fork because even though it's a small operation, there were plenty of other small lobster shacks that I visited that were run much better with larger menus.

But on to the food.

Of course you have to get the lobster roll ($19) and we also got an order of the fried clam roll as well ($17) and two diet Pepsi (another strike against them that they didn't have coke).  When you first see the lobster roll, it literally takes your breath away.  They shove an entire lobster on to the roll.  They really barely touch the lobster because they put the entire tail, both claws and some of the body in the roll without really chopping it.  They pretty much remove the lobster straight into the roll.  So that was quite impressive.  The roll was also nice and toasted with a nice hint of butter to it.  Unlike most of the lobster rolls I've had before, this one was pretty much naked - no mayo, no butter, no celery, no nothing, just plain lobster meat.  In theory that is a great idea and should have really brought out the natural flavor of the lobster.  We did manage to pour an entire side of melted butter on the lobster but it was missing some seasoning.  I'm not saying it needed a lot, but it was a bit too naked for me.  But in all honesty with the amount of lobster in there, I really can't complain too much.  I've never seen a roll packed with this much whole meat in it.  As for the clam strips - there was a lot of clam filling stuffed to this sandwich but I did think there was a bit too much batter on the clams themselves.  Once I stripped away some of the batter and got down to the clams, they were delicious.  But I did enjoy having a thin salty layer of batter on them while dipping them in a classic tartar sauce.   All in all, it was a great but very slow start to the day.  I probably would have really enjoyed my meal a lot more if it was just run more efficiently.  Total bill:  $42 total

2nd Stop:  Five Islands Lobster Company - 1447 Five Islands Rd., Georgetown, ME 04548 - 3.5 Forks

The 2nd stop on the tour was roughly 30 minutes away from Red's in a cute town called Georgetown.  The place is more of what I had envisioned for my Maine experience.  The setting is absolutely stunning - it's located right on the water with a gorgeous picturesque background of boats, pine trees and big lovely houses.  It was just a very soothing place.  The shack has a slightly larger menu than Red's with whole lobster, crab cake sandwiches, Jenny special (what?! I should have gotten that - it's grilled Haddock with a crab cake on top of it), Haddock sandwiches, grilled salmon, clam baskets, scallops baskets, shrimp baskets, fish and chips, burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and sides such as chowder, stew, corn, fries and onion rings to name a few.  I was so torn but since this was the lobster tour,  we continued with our lobster roll (we got the small size which is a 1/4 lb of meat ($15) vs. the Big Boy option which is a 1/2 lb of meat) and I got a side of fish chowder ($6) since I felt like I needed to branch out.   The operations here was much smoother than Red's and we barely had to wait in line or for a food. 

The best part of the dining experience here is the large dock full of benches with great views.   You can just plop down a few inches away from the water and enjoy your food.  Given that we just came from Red's which had lobster overflowing, it was a bit underwhelming to get a roll with only a 1/4 lb of meat - but that's probably the normal amount of meat one should expect in a lobster roll.  Similar to Red's, the meat was kept fairly intact and not served with a lot of extras on top of it.  There was a very light touch of mayo and a lettuce leaf on a grilled hot dog bun.  Overall, it was a very clean lobster roll.  The chowder was a haddock chowder with corn and potato.  It was a little bit runny and not as thick as I would have liked a chowder to be but since I was preparing myself to eat for the next 48 hours straight, I appreciated that it was on the lighter side but it's definitely not a chowder that could stand alone as a meal.  All in all, I would also highly recommend this place, not just because of the solid food and quick turnaround but because of the gorgeous scenic views.  It's really what you think of when you think of Maine.  Total bill:  $22

3rd Stop - The Lobster Shack at Two Lights - 225 Two Lights Rd., Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107 - 4 Forks

As if the views at Five Islands wasn't beautiful enough, we ended our tour of the day near Two Lights State Park and finished our night at The Lobster Shack.  It's also your classic Maine landscape with lighthouses, sea gulls and waves crashing on the rocks.  It's a great place to bring your family and it's also kind of a romantic spot.  It's less of a shack here and and more of a cafeteria style building.  Again - similar menu to most other places and we came here for the lobster roll, Janet also got a chowder and we indulged and got homemade strawberry rhubarb pie and local Maine blueberry pie with whip cream.   This was the 1st lobster roll we had that really favored mayo.  They put a pretty large dollop of mayo on top of the lobster and maybe it was because the past 2 rolls we had didn't have any mayo, but it almost felt like there was too much mayo here.  But having the mayo on the lobster roll did make me realize how much I do prefer having a mayo based roll vs. a butter based one.  It may be really unhealthy for me but I really loved having that extra touch of mayo on the lobster.   The bun here was also a standard hot dog bun but it wasn't really super buttery or toasted.  I had a few bites of Janet's chowder and she thought it was a bit too thin but it was pretty full of lobster meat in there as well.  But the big star of the meal was dessert.  Oh my - that strawberry rhubarb pie was out of this world.  You could tell that everything was homemade.  They were simply delicious and really just used the sweetness of the local fruit to bring out the flavors.  The crust was perfect - not too overcooked and hard but not too chewy.  I loved that fact that they just slathered the entire pie in whip cream - that's totally the way to do it!   Even though it was a bit cold and windy, I was really happy to end my meal in such a lovely setting and with great food, especially in the dessert category.  Total bill:  $29

Day 2 coming up......