Stowe's in West Haven

View out to West Haven Beach from Stowe's

Last weekend's catch was from Stowe's in West Haven.  Old standby, from a long ago era on an urban beach.  Urban beaches are interesting to compare to the quaint, more resort-y beaches up the Connecticut coast.  The elements of sand, water, and long boardwalk are still present, but the urban beach has dented aluminum guardrails, broken concrete, and a certain unkemptness all around it, in greater quantities.  There's not a lot of trash or anything, so maybe it's the just the gestalt of broken concrete and dents in the aluminum that gives the urban beach its gritty quality, or maybe it's the lack of a seaside pavilion or fishing shack with beadboard trim and wood walkways.  The difference in the feel of the beach in West Haven versus the beach in say, Westbrook, are stark.

Arrrrrrgh.   rrrrr.  rrr.  r.

Stowe's has a nice pirate theme going on.  It's an odd piece of Caribbean island-ness, surrounded not by water, but by residential development and a somewhat industrial asphalt road wrapping around the corner. I liked the shellacked picnic tables underneath a wood canopy of sorts, sort of an island pergola. It faces the beach at West Haven and you can imagine on a hot day, eating tasty fried food and feeling beach breezes blow on you.  It's also at one end of a beachside walkway that takes you from Savin Rock to Bradley Point Park, about a half mile or so away.  There used to be an amusement park in between, along the lines of Coney Island, back in the early part of the 20th century. Pictures line the walls of a rest area along the path showing ferris wheels, rollercoaster rides and such.  It looks like it was once quite the scene.  Now, it's just beach, walkway, and areas where trees grow almost right up to the beach.  There is a slightly pirate-esque atmosphere to it all - a lost world.

Stowe's lobster roll was decent.  It was the most buttery thing I've ever eaten.  Butter was literally dripping off my hands as I ate this lobster roll.  For around $15, you just get a lobster roll, so it's not the best value, but it is a tasty little treat.  The meat was in good sized chunks, and both tail and claw.  Most people go here to get the "Treasure Chest" which is a large box (think the shoebox that boots come in) with a mess of fried seafood.  Heart attack chest, perhaps.  This place does not believe in the Surgeon General of America's advice.  

Hey!  I think that claw is still wiggling....

Old Lyme Seafood and piping plover chicks

Completely remiss is updating on the Great Lobster Roll Quest. What? You thought I gave up? Never!

So, last weekend was jam packed. It was Connecticut Trails weekend, or something like that (Lobster roll? Where's the lobster roll? Yes, I'm getting there.) and I had two hikes, one shad bake, a lobster roll, lots of people to talk to, and a concert to hit. And a house showing. Yes.

The hikes were great. Short-ish, easy jaunts, designed for older folks and kids, and what the heck, let a few middle-aged adults in for giggles. ...There is an awful lot of natural wonder out in this neck of the woods, something easy to miss because it's not dramatic like the cliffs of Dover, but outrageously beautiful in its own way. In Old Lyme, there's a sweet place called Griswold Point Preserve. Mostly private property, there are spots that are preserved for that most fragile of ecosystems, the sand spit.

Piping plover in particular like this area, semi-protected in a sparsely populated area, and here, they can nest relatively undisturbed. I should just say, piping plover chicks are very cute. They are golf ball sized balls of fluff, on the thinnest of stick legs, running around like wind-up toys.

Also, there are terns, which are like large hummingbirds that dive for minnow sized fish along the edges of the sand spit. Harder to get a good picture of these guys, but they have an intensity of purpose - and laser-sharp eyesight - that I admire.

OK, lobster roll! Post hike, what better thing to eat than a hot lobster roll (when you're on a hot lobster roll quest)? Yes. Well, just up the road from the Griswold Point area there are two places you can get lobster rolls next door to each other. One of them was specifically pointed out to me and described as follows: "their food is bad." OK. That was easy.

So I went to Old Lyme Seafood. Side of the road fish market, catering to those loony Lymies (this might be the least densely populated coastal town in Connecticut, home of the Lyme disease carrying deer tick), the place had a lobster tank and the friendliest counter people ever. They all waved hello to me when I walked in. That's always nice. For the record, because it bears saying over and over and over again: warm, friendly people are the best.

 
The lobster roll was tail and claw meat, sweet and buttered, with a well-toasted bun. It was pretty good. Very solid. No lemon, a dry-ish cole slaw and chips. All for around $15. It was very much good, middle of the pack.

Yes, I know. The most exciting description of a lobster roll ever. What can I say?


I was, however, quite inspired by the local Shad Bake at the Connecticut River Museum. There's a very nice sense of history, watching the shad get nailed onto oak boards with pieces of salt pork, then roasted around a fire pit, much as it was a hundred years ago. I asked where the shad came from and one of the bake masters pointed to the Connecticut River behind me. Fresh!!

Fillets planked before cooking

Roasting!

Takes a lot of experience to bone shad.  Very fine boned fish.

Burning off the drippings at the end.

"Ate Too Much."

Bonus baby plover chicks:

The concert later was hot, kickin' bluegrass performed by the band Della Mae - extremely good music! Kick-ass musicians.

Great weekend. Good times with good people!

Lenny's and the Lobster Shack in Branford

Had some time near Branford and an appetite, so I tucked in at two places, Lenny's and the Branford Lobster Shack. Lenny's is actually Lenny's Indian Head Inn, which I'm pretty sure is just a restaurant, not an inn at all, although it could've been at one point. It's in the Indian Neck section of Branford (get it, Indian Head and Indian Neck?), which is primarily residential, with marsh land and inlets off the Branford River curling in and around throughout the area. It still has an old resort vibe that apparently started back in the early 1900s when it was a part time seaside community.

Walking into Lenny's, you immediately feel like you're at an old established standby, a place old-timers still go. A honey-toned, wood-lined interior with booths and tables seat many inside, and picnic tables and a kitschy bar behind a boat hull allow outdoor seating on the deck facing a marsh. It feels like a place generations of families have come and gone, and in fact, during my visit, pairs of mothers and daughters and groups of 3-generation families kept coming in. And of course, your friendly, occasional odd duck, the single person looking to try the hot sauteed lobster roll.

It was overstuffed! The meat couldn't stay in the bun, and the whole thing was falling apart almost before picking it up.  Unlike Seawell's and Edd's Place, the large meat quantity wasn't necessarily a great thing.  However, the lobster was definitely fresh picked, still had some green guts stuff on it. It was a wee bit overcooked, so a little tough, but it wasn't bad. The butter on the side flummoxed me as usual, and the portion of fries was large. No cole slaw. All this for $21.95, making it the most expensive lobster roll of the pack, regardless of sides.

I would say, between the price and the taste, it wouldn't be my top choice.

Looking out to the Branford River.

Claw and tail meat which is tasty.

Maybe should've brought my cup of butter from Lenny's?

I decided to try my luck next at Branford's famed Lobster Shack, just a few miles away on Indian Neck Avenue, within the boatyard of the Branford Marine Railway. Which is literally a boatyard just across the river from the northeast corridor railway and Branford train station. It was a nice enough spot, and the shack is really a larger food truck set up to be stationary at the far end of the boatyard. Would be cool if they were more nautically themed, maybe serving out an old, decommissioned yacht. But décor is not the object here.

For $15, you get a toasted, top-sliced, smaller submarine roll and a quarter pound of lobster meat with pre-applied butter and lemon. You can get a larger one for $25. It was tasty enough, and I know it's got a reputation as one of the best hot lobster rolls in the state, but I am just not a fan of the heavier roll. Lobster meat is delicate in flavor, and if you've got really good, fresh lobster meat, you might be able to get away with a heavy roll, but typically, it's really not that fresh. So a roll heavier than the top-loading New England hot dog roll gets in the way. I ended up with a lot of bread left over at the end of this lobster roll. Fortunately, they also had gelato.

They get their lobster sent down from Groton, which doesn't necessarily prove it's not from Canada, but it is certainly fresh enough. But, if it isn't abundantly clear already, lighter bread is better. Maybe they should think about getting an old yacht to serve out of…

Just my personal opinion, on my personal opinion blog, but I would not go out of my way to get this lobster roll, and if it's pre-applied butter and lemon you're after, I'd head for Clinton's Lobster Shack.

Niantic, Pawcatuck, Haddam, and Madison

A lot has been accomplished the past few weekends.

Since last post, I have visited these fine establishments:

1 - East Lyme  The Rustic Café

2 - Niantic       Dad's

3 - Niantic       Skipper's

4 - Pawcatuck  Seawell

5 - Haddam     Blue Oar

6 - Madison     Lenny & Joe's
7 - Branford    Lenny's
8 - Branford    Lobster Shack

In one weekend, it was 5.5 lobster rolls down the hatch. This past weekend was another two.  Strong.  Determined.  Nuts.  Whatever.

There's also statement about obsessiveness that could be made here, but I will not.  Suffice to say, obsessiveness is how most things in the world get done - think Great Pyramids, the Panama Canal, Great Wall of China, Andy Warhol…The Great Lobster Roll Quest! Anyway, this is more akin to therapy than excess.  So. 

East Lyme is (actually made up of two Census-Designated Places) Flanders and Niantic. 

Friday was a rough day at work.  Dealing with crazy people and sad situations has driven many a human to drinking and worse, and with me, it was no different.  Beer and a hot lobster roll binge.  The beer with my name on it was to be found at The Rustic Café in East Lyme.  This was an odd one because it was not near water - how could it have a fresh lobster roll?  Uh-huh. This is the first lobster roll in the quest that had me wondering why this restaurant was even making them.  And wondering who the reviewers on yelp are who say this is the best lobster roll ever.  People nuttier than me, that's for sure.

See all those little curly slivers in the lobster meat?  ??

They have wi-fi!

The lobster wasn't fresh, and it had all these tiny leg pieces in it which was not pleasant-looking. The good parts:  the roll was a standard tasty, buttered, toasted hot dog roll, and the cole slaw was pretty good.  For $10, it was ok, but you'd probably do better checking out some of their other options.

Disregarding the lobster roll, I actually really enjoyed the atmosphere of the Rustic Café, which is really rustic.  It's a one-room, side of the road place, kind of in the middle of the woods, reminiscent of one room school rooms.  It's capable of seating all of maybe 30 thin or unusually lacking-in-sense-of-personal-space kind of people, max.  The kind of place where burly Harley-riding types would be quite comfortable, with or without personal space boundaries.  I was a little out of place, but chatting with the very pleasant wait staff and a really cool older lady sitting at the bar having her dinner made me feel welcome. 

Dad's and Skipper's

Onto Niantic, and the shore.  Water!  Niantic is one of those areas that has fortunately not gotten a lot of press and so has a throwback feeling to it.  Quaint, older shops, walkable, cute.  The East Lyme tourism industry touts its status as "one of the 'Top 20 Places to Retire' by Connecticut Magazine."  Whee!  You know, there's a reason half of the population of Connecticut wants to leave...

 Dad's and Skipper's contribute to the town's relaxed, yet fun seaside vibe. Both feel like they were once young, eager, excited, side-of-the-road, seasonal establishments that grew into portly, late middle age and acquired respectable glassed in decks facing the water, yet retained enough kitschy elements to remind us of their roots. 

Dad's walk up counter has a solid "shack" feel to it, though the place is well enclosed with the aforementioned glass, and a wrap-around outdoor deck that faces the Niantic harbor.  The lobster roll was ok.  The cup of butter on the side was new to me.  The lobster tasted fresh enough, but visually, it just looked dry since it was un-pre-buttered.  I'm on the fence about this ability to apply the butter yourself as the chance to f-up the application is high.  The real downside to self-applied butter is oversoaking your bun, making for a really messy, greasy eating experience.  Hence, wet-nap!  $13.95

Sidebar to the sandbar:

I just had two lobster rolls and a beer after a long day, and needed a break, so headed down to the water.  There's a tiny sliver of a beach that you access from Cini Park, just before a bridge over into the next part of town.  The Amtrak train runs along this hidden away water's edge, is very easy to miss, and frankly, not spectacular.  But I was glad for it.  It's good to know when you need to stop and decompress after experiencing something emotionally taxing.  This doesn't always happen.  People run themselves ragged all the time, and they don't take enough breaks.  Heartaches, grief, vexing problems, life.  I needed to feel sand under my feet and the sight of clear salt water lapping along the shore.  About a mile long, the little beach is a great place for dogs to romp until Memorial Day.  The train running along above it surprisingly isn't too bothersome.  The concrete walk is lined with a railing engraved with names of local people and contributors to the walk, a warm gesture to community.

The third roll

Finally, Skipper's, which had an OK hot lobster roll, again, butter on the side in a cup.  The meat didn't look as dry as Dad's did, and it tasted fine.  I watched the cook heat the meat on the griddle while toasting the bun, and it was fairly clear the meat wasn't super fresh.  The atmosphere was more McDonald's than traditional lobster shack.  $13.99.  The extra $.04 more than Dad's gets you really crunchy potato chips.

With a full belly and the feel of beach sand and salt water, I felt rejuvenated, relaxed, grateful to be alive. 

Seawell Seafood, Pawcatuck

The next day, I had a full day planned with some lobster roll pit stops along the way.  My schedule for the day included a flax-to-linen demonstration, sheep shearing, arts festival and lobster rolls.  The lobster roll destination was Seawell in Pawcatuck (3 Liberty Street) right on the Westerly Pawcatuck border. (There are at least two places of the same name, but only the fish market carries the hot lobster roll.) It has a reputation for excellent fresh seafood to take home and cook.  They had huge lobsters in their tanks, and my companion, who arrived earlier than I did, reported seeing a cooler being brought in, likely by a fisherman.  So, the stuff is fresh.  They also mark where the catch comes from - local RI bivalves, CT flat fish, and of course, Stonington lobsters.

Despite all the lovely looking fishy items to be had, we were steadfast in our mission and ordered hot lobster rolls.  The woman behind the fish case asked if we wanted butter on the side.  No, thank you.  Pre-applied butter, please.  There's no place to sit and eat there, but you could walk across the (crazy) intersection of Rt. 2 and Rt. 1 and find a park bench along the river to eat.

This lobster roll was a surprise.  Opening my styrofoam container, I was slightly horrified to see an untoasted potato roll and sliced leeks peeking through the large chunks of lobster meat.  Potato roll!  Sliced leeks!?!  Well, what do you expect for $10?  Uh, well, in this case, you can actually expect a lot.  The meat was incredibly good.  Sweet and tasty, it was extremely fresh, claw and tail meat.  The only fault was the bits of shell left in it (two), but somehow that gave me confidence in its fresh home-madeness.  Overall, I liked it, thought it was tasty, and would say that's it's one of the best values so far, but I could've left off half the leeks.

The second half of the weekend - Blue Oar and Lenny & Joe's

Sunday rolls around, and I had made plans to meet a friend for lunch and she suggested the Blue Oar in Haddam.

It never crossed my mind they would be a candidate for lobster roll questing, but there it was.  It's not oceanside, but it is on a beautiful spot right next to the mighty Connecticut River.  Not expecting to have the hot lobster roll there, I did not have my camera, but trust me and the New York Times when we say that it's a lovely spot with great food.  And, since it's owned by the operators of Simon's in Chester, the best sandwich shop in the state, I do have a soft spot for it.

Their lobster roll was tasty: A foot-long top-loader roll, claw and leg meat, which was well cooked and salty.  Good butter.  Nicely toasted footlong top-loader.  I have come to the conclusion that a well-toasted piece of bread is enormously important, as so often, the last bite of a lobster roll is bread, and nothing but crisply toasted white bread will leave a soul-satisfying mixture of texture and sweetness in the mouth.  $18

But wait!  Not done!  
There are at least three opportunities a day for lobster rolls.

Madison's iconic Lenny & Joe's was the next nearest stop, and so we tried that, too.  So, no one warned me ahead of time, but the place is a ZOO.  Probably 50 or so picnic tables cover a gravel lot next to the Carousel, and the main indoor dining area.  Oh, did I mention this was Memorial Day weekend, perhaps one of the busiest days for the restaurant of the year??  Well, it was.

So, if you have little kids and want good, old-fashioned, fried seafood, this is your spot. You can bring your own table settings and beverages for the picnic table area, and of course, all the friends you can drag in.  It felt like a continual, massive, communal birthday party, replete with kids running around and tired parents…

The lobster roll ($15.99) was a regular top-loader, toasted bun with shredded claw meat, and it came with cole slaw.  It was fine.  I would say it falls in squarely with the good middle of the pack.  Totally decent.  For a kid's birthday party.

I decided to only have half of one in order to take in half of a fried soft-shell crab sandwich, which was pretty good, while being incredibly weird eating at the same time.  Thoughts of sand-covered crabs, waving their pincers at me came to mind.  Had to do some mental strong-arming in order to bite into the thing. 

That gene that tells me when to stop eating?  I am destroying it.

Soft-shell crab sandwich with fries.

Will tell you all about Branford later...