The Fish husband and I had our first lobster rolls together in Bar Harbor, Maine, on a snowy early spring day over 20 years ago. It was not tourist season, so many restaurants weren't even open, but the one we found, in a hotel overlooking the lobster-trap lined harbor, had very tasty lobster rolls.
It took us quite a few years to decide that there might be a market for lobster rolls in the Chicago area - if we found the right recipe, and also the right New England-style bun. So about six years ago, on a trip to visit friends in Boston, we went on a lobster-roll tasting expedition.
There was a surprising variety - everything from a very plain lobster and mayo in a hot dog bun (wasn't very good), to the one we've tried to emulate that we enjoyed thoroughly in a restaurant in Salem. We tried a couple in the hot butter style, which some New Englanders swear by, but we found them cloyingly rich, and you couldn't taste the lobster.
We enlisted our friends to help us sample, ordering different versions at the same restaurant and sharing tastes - they probably thought we were restaurant critics.
When we got back to Chicago, we gave a list of ingredients to Jaimie, our talented chef, and he experimented until we felt he'd found the winning combination of mayonnaise, crunchy celery, a light touch of green onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and big chunks of Maine lobster.
The hardest part was the bun - we absolutely didn't want to use hot dog buns. We found a local bakery that knew how to bake New England-style rolls, and we introduced the sandwiches in our stores. The rolls are made from a slightly sweeter, less dense bread dough, and they toast beautifully to provide the perfect conveyance for the lobster filling. And we never ever slice them sideways - only down the top, just like the really good ones we had out east.
It was a tough job, searching out a great lobster roll recipe, but somebody had to do it...
This weekend, in honor of the NCAAs, we're selling our regular size lobster roll for $11, (Reg. $12.95), our half-pounder (at Hinsdale) for $17.95. And every Tuesday, you can get a two-fer - two lobster rolls for $20, but you have to get two to get the deal.
We've found that there is definitely a market for lobster rolls in the Chicago area - when something is really good, it's good wherever you buy it.
Let us know if there's something seafood-related from your part of the country that you miss - we just might try to start making it!
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