Five Second Rule

You all may recall that a long long long time ago I posted a blog post about my mac ‘n’ cheese bake-off. The winner, Joanie Tobin’s amazing prize was a guest blog spot on my highly coveted blog. So here it is:

FIVE SECOND RULE

Lost Lobster Meat

I stared at the ground, tears welling up. “I could still eat it.” Liz looked horrified. “No,” she said. “You can’t.” There at our feet, surrounded by remnants of customers past, was the meat of almost an entire lobster claw, freshly fallen from the end of my wheat roll. It was by far the biggest piece in the roll, but the thing was so stuffed I guess there was just no room for it. Word to the wise: if you’re eating a lobster roll at Linda Bean’s, eat it over your basket!

Joanie outside Linda Bean's

Liz has been reminding me kindly to write a guest post ever since I won the privilege in her mac ‘n’ cheese bake-off this winter. Which makes sense because along with Liz, I am the #1 lobster roll and MNC fan. But I had a stipulation. If I’m going to write a post, it has to be about Linda Bean’s. She agreed! Serendipitously, Saturday we made the trek, driving south to grab lobster rolls in the shade for a late lunch, and spending the next couple of hours mesmerized by the crowds while swimming and sunning ourselves on the beach. Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll is a little stand at Nantasket Beach in Hull. One of nine in a chain owned by Linda Bean, granddaughter of L.L. Bean, it serves lobster purchased from Maine fishermen at wharves owned by Linda Bean and processed at a plant also owned by Linda Bean. Over the past few years she has been buying up lobster infrastructure with the goal of revitalizing the industry. Needless to say, she has ruffled some feathers. And not only because of her swoop-in, spend-big style. She’s a conservative Christian with strong political views and money to back them up. None of which I knew when I had my first taste of her lobster roll. After that there was no going back.

Liz and other customers anxiously await lobster rolls

Surprisingly, when we got there, we were the only customers. But after we got our orders and sat down, people seemed drawn to the place. Perhaps it was our charming good looks, or the overflowing rolls in our hands, who knows. What I do know is one group walked by three or four times, eyeing our spoils, and finally they stopped because one of them just had to try a lobstah roll. The meat is fresh, abundant and delicious. More importantly, it is unencumbered by mayo (the roll itself does have a little bit of mayo-based dressing at the bottom.) The inside is stuffed with mostly claws and knuckles and you can choose a white or wheat roll. It comes with Cape Cod or Miss Vickie’s chips and sliced pickles (on the side TG.) Asked by his friend how it was, the new customer said through a full mouth “mmm. there’s alotta meat.” Add to this the amazing Nantasket people-watching and you have a fantastic afternoon. By which I mean that once you commit to driving to Hull, you kind of have to make at least an afternoon out of it since the traffic on routes 93 and 3 is typically treacherous. Sadly this is why I usually only make it to L.B.’s a few times a summer, but then again, maybe the less I pad her pockets, the better.

-JOANIE TOBIN

Beach Ball Kid at Nantasket