Lust for Lobster, Pound for Pound
A New England Road Trip
If you asked me what I would wish to be served for my last meal, my answer is a steamed two -pound Maine lobster with caviar butter, fresh corn on the cob and boiled Yukon gold potatoes topped with more caviar, maybe a dabble of sour cream. There would also be a few dozen platters of oysters from the coldest waters possible. But I am going to write an ode to the Maine lobster because it brings back such happy memories of our time visiting David’s family in New Hampshire and Maine during our road trip.
We drove to Hampton, New Hampshire, where David’s brother, Fred, and his wife Julia, lived. We went out for lobster every night, and I think we even ate lobster rolls for lunch. Sone of the spots we visited included The Beach Plum in Portsmouth, and Markey’s Lobster Pound in Seabrook and Bernie’s Bar in Hampton Beach.
We drove to Saco, Maine, to visit David and Fred’s Aunt Susan and lunch at a small lobster spot on the water. It was September, and Maine lobsters were plump and sweet. The days we spent with Fred and Julia and visiting Aunt Susan reminded me of a carefree Maine vacation with my parents and my father’s mother one August. We visited every single lobster shack within reasonable driving distance. Naturally, our favorite was Young’s lobster pound. My grandmother had advanced pancreatic cancer, and my father wanted to give her special vacation with us. I still have a photo of my mother and father holding up a big, steamed lobster.
When we lived in the Hudson Valley, we used our Shoprite discount card to buy Maine lobsters for $6.99 a pound. We’d buy two-pounds each, and David would cook them in a giant pot. We’d boil some late summer corner on the cob, tomato salad and a great bottle of wine. David always told me the cornstalks would be “knee high by Fourth of July” and he was right.
Since that time, Fred and Julia sold their house in Hampton and moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Aunt Susan passed away. What we have left are the memories.
New Orleans has a wealth of fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico – red snapper, drum, pompano, shrimp. I am grateful for this. But what it lacks is succulent lobster. I don’t consider Caribbean the real deal because they don’t have claws. What’s the point of enjoying a lobster without claws? At the local grocer, the lobsters are $21.99 a pound and look pitiful. Recently, we broke down and bought a prepared meal of lobster tail and corn on the cob at a local supermarket. The lobster was tough and tasteless. The corn was mushy. I don’t consider Caribbean the real deal because they don’t have claws. What’s the point of enjoying a lobster without claws?
Yesterday, I became distracted by a video David was looking at of a pile of just caught Maine lobsters. I felt like I was watching food porn.
You can keep your New England chowder and your quahogs. I crave Maine lobster.
Maybe, I can score a cheap flight to Maine.
