Edd's Place, the dark horse.

Wow.  This was one amazing lobster roll.  Edd's Place in Westbrook was a complete dark horse in this lobster roll quest.  I went to get my hair cut, and my hair stylist recommended the place (yes, I am telling just about everyone I know about the lobster roll quest.)  (Because going on a mission to eat a lot of lobster rolls all over the north of New Haven Connecticut shoreline is REALLY fun.  And educational. And tasty.) It was on my way between a few activities, so I stopped in around lunchtime.

 

When I first looked at the roll and saw the shredded lettuce, I was kind of aghast.  Uh-oh, I thought, what mischief is afoot here?  Then, I looked, really looked at the enormous chunks of buttered lobster.  Uh-oh, I thought, how am I going to eat that?  The whole thing seemed too big and wide to pick up and put to mouth.  [Somehow, our intrepid lobster roll quester finds a way....]

There's something about really large pieces of lobster meat that is particularly satisfying.  I think it boils down to one major reason - I didn't have to pick the thing myself.  Instead of seeing chopped up prepared product (think tubs of prepared salads at the supermarket) that keeps you removed from thinking about the preparation process, the whole form of the claw reminds you that Someone else did all the hard work of boiling the crustacean, pulling it out, waiting for it to cool, cracking open the shell and pulling out the meat. (Food preparers of the world, thank you.)  Another reason might be that you get a really satisfying mouth feel when biting into a large hunk of succulent flesh, really using your teeth the way nature intended.  You have to eat just lobster first to get into this roll.  Consisting of claw and knuckle meat, biting into this roll was ...well, really, really, really good.

Every single roll I've had, I've discovered something new about the variations on hot lobster rolls.  The cool thing about Edd's was that at the end of the roll, I still had a really large chunk of lobster left that left the meat to bread ratio about the same as at the beginning.  Still really tasty.  The lettuce, I will say, didn't do anything for me one way or the other. I think it was around $16.95 for the regular size.  They offer a large as well for around $20.

What is this lobster pie you speak of?

View from the picnic tables

Edd's Place is right off of Route 1 in Westbrook, and is literally a shack with an enclosed gazebo and picnic tables along the edge of a cove.  Actually, across the water is the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.  Or rather, one part of it, the Salt Meadow unit.  Which might be one reason these guys were enjoying hanging out down at the bottom of the slope.

So, I am wondering a little bit what all this lobster is doing to my system, and it's reassuring to read that the Gulf of Maine Research Institute reports that:

"Nutrition studies show that 3 1/2 ounces of lobster meat (without the butter) contains only 90 calories, compared to 163 calories for the same amount of chicken and 280 calories for sirloin steak. Lobster also contains omega-3 fatty acids, the "good " cholesterol that seems to reduce hardening of the arteries and decrease the risk of heart attacks."

Lobster is good for you!!  Thank god.