Day 12: The Day I Met the Lobster Roll

For dinner after a long day's of work, I decided to meet up with my old college buddies L & M. Originally we were going to go to K-town (which then would have been a repeat of the same pictures, same restaurant, and same food) - but then I decided to put a spin on it and go for something completely new to me: The Lobster Roll.

I had seen a friend's food blog rave about the Lobster Roll and how a simple sandwich was transformed into a majestic piece of finery, due to the immense chunks of lobster that was gently placed in a butter roll and lightly doused with mayo. I decided to give it a shot and go to Pearl's Oyster Bar located down towards the East Village:

My oh my, is this a rocking little joint. Not only were there only about 10-15 tables in the restaurant (and very cozy at that), I happened to see a friend from high school (who journeyed all the way from the 100s!) and another friend who both walked in at that time. After approximately a 30 minute wait, the 3 of us looked at the menu, and immediately ordered what caught our eye.

For me, it was the half-dozen Blue Point Oysters that began my experience at Pearl's. 30 seconds later, I can say that those were great, just enough salt and just the right flavor to whet my appetite for what was to come.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the big cahuna of lobster rolls. Coming in at about 27 bucks per sandwich, this is packed with chunks of lobster (including the tail), slathered in mayo, and accompanied by shoestring fries. I will give the following observations:
- The lobster was delicious but there was so much mayo I actually wiped a ton off on the plate itself. It was just so filling and rich that it actually took away from the lobster taste which I love so much
- The bread was richly buttered, which usually I'm not the biggest fan of, but it paired well with the lobster
- Again because of the mayo, I actually wished for more lettuce to balance the sandwich out
- The fries were thin and just crisp enough. Ranked quite highly in my book (they're similar to the fries found at Continental Midtown in Philadelphia).

All in all, I would say that the lobster roll is a great experience, but I doubt I would go back. That or I will need some sort of strainer to keep the sandwich in its purest form.

To end this post, I'll post up the video of Man V. Food where Adam Richmond takes on the oyster challenge. 180 in total.