Offbeat Eats

If there’s one New England tradition I rather like, it’s that of the Lobster Roll. Our local contribution to seaside fast food, it involves taking a hot dog bun (top-split being the best), and loading it up with lobster meat (preferably, with a few big chunks of claw meat), lightly dressed with lemon, celery, salt, pepper, and, sometimes, mayo, it’s a great way to enjoy fresh lobster, and at times it seems just about every restaurant in New England gets in on the action. You can read about one of my other favorite lobster rolls in my review of Latitudes down the shore in New Castle, NH, but even Panera and McDonalds get in on the action (and actually, for the price, the short-seasonal special McLobster usually is pretty good.) So one idea we had for our second car-shopping trip to Portland was to duck in and get a lobster roll on our way home at one of the better-recommended places in the Portland area: Bite into Maine. There was just one little problem with that plan…. Bite into Maine, primarily being a food truck, with locations at Allagash Brewing and Fort Williams Park (and the occasional special event) is a seasonal production, and during our late April visit, their food trucks weren’t out for the season. But the great folks at Bite into Maine happen to have a solution for this: they maintain a commissary for their trucks off Route 1 in Scarborough, and the commissary now has a small dining area, so you can have your favorite Lobster Rolls any time, including the off-season!

Two weekends ago my parents came to visit, and since we rarely get down to the seacoast (despite NH being a small state, the coast is ~2 hours from here), we decided that would be a good day trip, with some driving, seeing Strawbery Banke, and wandering around Portsmouth. Afterward, we wanted a late lunch, so we ended up heading down to New Castle to the Wentworth-by-the-sea resort so we could indulge in the classic New England summertime treat: the Lobster Roll.