Driving New York to Maine

[iheartoffal]

Awesome. Your trip sounded magical in a lot of ways, especially the realization it led you to concerning the sometimes undervalued freedom we have in this country. I never really even stopped to think about it that way.

You've inspired me. I was going to fly to Seattle sometime this year to visit my folks, but now I think I'm going to drive.

[emmapeel]

Daniel, an absolutely fantastic road trip and boy did I learn something (about CT.) I have to have a bacon smothered hot dog and a buttered lobster roll. You've discovered why I love Maine so much. It's just the greatest. Thanks for the report. (I just want to scream when I look at the photos of the clams.)

[Corinna Dunne]

Incredible.

What a great report and wonderful shots too. We were up there this time last year and this makes me feel so nostalgic. I agree, there is nothing quite like the salty sweetness of freshly landed, steamed Maine lobster. And the immediacy of feasting on it in the pounds/shacks heightens the experience.

Do you have a view on hard shell v soft shell lobster? Small v large?

[Daniel]

Awesome.  Your trip sounded magical in a lot of ways, especially the realization it led you to concerning the sometimes undervalued freedom we have in this country.  I never really even stopped to think about it that way. 

You've inspired me.  I was going to fly to Seattle sometime this year to visit my folks, but now I think I'm going to drive.

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I am happy you are going to take that drive.. I highly, highly recommend you doing it.. If you need further inspiration or maybe some places to go, check out my road trip part deux on adventures in eating.. I just did the drive from vegas in March.. I am planning on a trip from vegas to seatle and from seatle to new york in august i think... If you have the time i would tell you 100 percent to bang it out..

[Daniel]

Incredible.

Do you have a view on hard shell v soft shell lobster?  Small v large?

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Oh boy.. I dont have any clue what the difference between a hard and soft shell lobster is.. You are making me want to go back right now to find the difference..

In terms of the difference between small and large i am not too sure.. I normally get a 2 pounder wherever i am.. What i can tell you is that my biggest peeve for lobster is when they serve you those hollow lobsters.. A lot of times when you buy a big lobster, it has not had the time to grow into its shell.. This leaves you sucking a lot of air in the feet, or just stringing meat in the claws.. In Maine the meat was pouring out of the feet or legs..The knuckles were a solid nugget of goodness. Its a real shame the ignorance with which lobsters are handled all over..

Wether its in a lobster tank at your local restaurant or your local super market, it appears the tanks are more like a decoration then anything else.

Please tell me more of this sof shelled lobster you speak of..

Edited May 30, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Great pics, Daniel. I totally empathize about going into fried food comas after eating like that... I just went through it myself after a week in New Orleans.

[Daniel]

[standing ovation]

Bravo, Daniel!  What a whirlwind! 

[/standing ovation]

I admit feeling a bit sheepish as you have accomplished what all of us on the New England board had hoped to do on both the Fried Clam, AND the Lobster roll threads SINGLEHANDED!  Well, with gracious help from your GF too. 

You are hearby annointed an honorary New Englander.  WooHooo!~

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Era, thank you, Era, Johhny D.. I consider you my main man in Maine.. I appreciate the title, but i have a long way to go.. I am glad you approve of my trip...

[Daniel]

Great pics, Daniel. I totally empathize about going into fried food comas after eating like that... I just went through it myself after a week in New Orleans.

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Thanks Jason... I was reading along with your New Orleans trip.. I havent finished, but if the tickets werent so damn expensive i would have been down there with ya.. I am glad they were however, cant wait to read how your trip turned out.. I am sure i will be following in your footsteps shortly..

Edited May 31, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Corinna Dunne]

Incredible.

Do you have a view on hard shell v soft shell lobster?  Small v large?

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Please tell me more of this sof shelled lobster you speak of..

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Aah... I don't mean to confuse the issue here. The difference is subtle (it's not like a soft shell crab). Basically, the hard shell lobsters take more work to crack, and are packed tighter with meat than their softer shelled pals. I'm too impatient to put up a fight, so normally go for the softer option. But I'm not a Maine die-hard. I only started going there 9 years ago, so still have a lot to learn!

On the other hand, my mother-in-law, who is a true aficionado, is always prepared to do battle with the harder shell variety. On the small v large question, I prefer to go for a medium sized lobster and share an additional one rather than go for a really large one, which I find just a little bit tougher. But from where I'm sitting now, this is a very moot point indeed!

Edited May 31, 2005 by Corinna Dunne (log)

[HungryChris]

Daniel,

Great job, great photos, great subject. I am thankful, as a resident of our little 'nutmeg state' to see a New Yorker rercognize the fact that we are not 'just flopping turkeys here!!!!' I hope your photo journey inspires more posts in a similar

vein as they offer enlightenment along with entertainment.

Bravo Daniel!

Cheers,

HC

Edited May 31, 2005 by HungryChris (log)

[Daniel]

Its been 24 hours since we have been home.. A few hours less since we have had our last lobster roll.... Now having purchased rolls in CT, we feel its our duty to recreate a Lobster Roll...

First we started with an official bun...

A couple of things i noticed about the packaging.. First, guy is using a charcoal grill.. Excellent.. Second the guy is serving the girl last..

We take these rolls and grill them with butter...

We then take the boiled lobster from the pot... Now you see it frying in butter after boiling...

Looking into my eyes you are getting hungry

The finished product... Oh my goodness this is amazing...

We also steamed a pound of shrimp and put Obycki's seasoning on it..

And had some sort of goat cheese lemon olive oil salad with other stuff, a la my girl

Edited May 31, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[johnnyd]

The deal with hard/soft shell lobsters is basically a migratory issue.

Lobsters come in-shore in early summer to molt. After spending winter in deep water canyons a few miles out, they come in to shed their shell and then hide out in crevices or under rocks while their now-larger shells get strong enough to take off into deep water again. They are very vulnerable to predators at this stage, but they still have to eat and eventually a few will get caught in the parlor of a lobster trap.

You will find the soft-shell only in summer markets. They are easy to break without the aid of a shell-cracker, just your hands will do it. Some people find the meat of a soft-shell lobster far sweeter and more desirable than the hard-shell kind, even though there is much less meat inside. Indeed, the winter markets get their supplies from lobster "pens" that sit in harbors all winter, basically last summer's catch. These tend to have less flavor which offers a chance to experiment a little. Some local chefs have time in the winter to create delicious dishes.

I appreciate the title, but i have a long way to go..

...yeah, you'll have to become a Red Sox fan!

[ghostrider]

What a great vicarious road trip to some of my fave spots! Thanks!

[Daniel]

Thank you, thank you.. I am so happy you enjoyed it.. I still am full..

[Holly Moore]

After your last two trips just one question, "Ya're not going to start another road food type web sit are ya?" We've got enough road food web sites already.

If you are though, you're off to a great start. Once again, well eaten!

[Chris Amirault]

Great job, Daniel -- but my beloved Providence got a cold diss! You gotta come back when it isn't Brown graduation weekend, so I can buy you a NY system weiner and more fried clams!

[Daniel]

After your last two trips just one question, "Ya're not going to start another road food type web sit are ya?"  We've got enough road food web sites already.

If you are though, you're off to a great start.  Once again, well eaten!

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Haha.. I would never for a million cheese steaks, Mr. Moore. I am in it strictly for the experience..

Edited June 3, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Great job, Daniel -- but my beloved Providence got a cold diss! You gotta come back when it isn't Brown graduation weekend, so I can buy you a NY system weiner and more fried clams!

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Yo, your beloved P-Town came out swinging on me.. We travlers were looking for refuge, but found car porn and hooker boots.. I would love a tour...

Edited June 3, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Chris Amirault]

We travlers were looking for refuge, but found car porn and hooker boots..

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See, you just needed a few NY system weiners and some coffee milk, and then you would have been more able to appreciate the comforts of car porn and hooker boots.

[bcsuka]

Just want to add my kudos to Daniel for an awesome trip report! I'm real glad to hear you enjoyed the Rawley's dog. I grew up in Fairfield, CT and practically lived on Rawley's during my high school days.

Believe me when I say that the inside has always looked rundown and that I was surprised at how nice the outside looked!

Now it's time to go find myself one of those killer lobster rolls. Yum!

[Chantilly Bob]

Great job, Daniel -- but my beloved Providence got a cold diss! You gotta come back when it isn't Brown graduation weekend, so I can buy you a NY system weiner and more fried clams!

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Yo, your beloved P-Town came out swinging on me.. We travlers were looking for refuge, but found car porn and hooker boots.. I would love a tour...

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We were up in the Warwick-Providence area for a big dog show that weekend and saw no car porn or hooker boots, but I found some of the finest weiners on the planet at a classic joint called Wein-O-Rama in Cranston.

You can find my trip report over on that other web site.

[naguere]

What a read, you have made my evening.

Bookmarked, I will revisit.

Thanks

[racheld]

Maine has called to me throughout all my life in the HOT humid sunny South. And now, due to Daniel's prose and pics and wit and a stomach capacity unrivaled since Hagrid, it's CALLING---it's ringing chimes, it's playing Mozart, it's on call waiting and e-mail and yodels from the hills.

I WANNA GO!!! We've planned to go every year for the past several; Autumn seemed to be the time, but when we got up here to these glorious Indiana leaf spectaculars, we were so overcome and awed and just joyous to be present at such a display, we cannot bear to leave home when such a beautiful, miraculous show has been arranged just outside our door.

And now, it's a given---we're planning on Maine for September, after all the crowd of houseguests planned for the next three months has come and gone.

Thanks, Daniel, for a wonderful piece, well written and well executed, and obviously WELL enjoyed. Your zest for the travels and the places and the food and even that pesky lemonade came through in a can't-stop-reading-and-looking sort of spell that I could not break away from.

Yep. We're going, thanks to your words and enthusiasm. The Chamber of Commerce is missing out on a GOOD THING.

And (blush)I don't even like lobster.

[Corinna Dunne]

I just heard yesterday that Maine is experiencing problems with the red tide and there are no local clams as a result. Apparently the heavy rain a while back has made it particularly bad. The reports on lobster continue to be good!

[Corinna Dunne]

Incredible.

Do you have a view on hard shell v soft shell lobster?  Small v large?

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Please tell me more of this sof shelled lobster you speak of..

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The soft shell lobsters have just come in. Succulent and sublime apparently!