Red’s Eats

The best lobster roll, period. Change my mind.

It’s been a hard year and, being quarantined in New York City, I find my thoughts drifting to happier times and the places where they occurred. Maine bubbles up frequently. The first time making my way north with the girl I was dating, now my wife, through the dark winding roads of a January evening; My first time to Cook’s Lobster House; My wedding on the coast in Acadia National Park; Thurston’s Lobster; The Saturday that we drove to Kittery on a whim, just because we missed the state; And of course the fist time we finally headed out of Wiscasset, and stopped at Red’s Eats, ruining everything we thought of as a decent lobster roll.

It’s not a fair fight, really. Because Red’s uses the definition of a lobster roll very loosely. It is a New England, top-sliced, toasted bun. And it is lobster. But that’s where it ends. The only thing on the lobster roll from Red’s is an entire lobster, forced into the standard sized roll. Melted butter and mayo are served on the side, to add on your own if you wish. I’m partial to the butter. There is no filler. No spices. No celery. Just lobster.

Let’s play a game — Look at the picture below, and try and find the roll.

There are other fine lobster rolls in Maine. A lot in fact. And most do not have the hour wait that Red’s does. I’m making it my quest to eat them all. But in the end, when I bite into another roll, it always, somehow, get’s compared to Red’s. There is a reason why the shack has been around for sixty something years and a reason people will wait on line for an hour — Red’s does something incredibly well that so many others get so terribly wrong.

Maybe I’ll make it to Maine this summer and our traditional stop at the bridge over the Wiscasset River. It will be interesting to see, not how long the line takes, but how far it snakes, given social distancing. Does it go along the railroad tracks, or cross the bridge? These are issues I feel need an answer.

Red’s Eats lobster roll is definitely made with love.

Other stories you might enjoy:

Stress Free Meals During COVID-19I tried four major meal prep services during self isolation, so you don’t have to. Here’s what I learned…medium.com

The Great Belgian Beer Caper“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” — Ernest Hemingway.thewatertoweronline.com

John Harbour is a United States Air Force veteran where he was a hostage rescue sniper with the Emergency Services Team (EST) and the leader of an airborne quick response team (AFT). He was last stationed outside of Las Vegas in the middle of the Nevada desert. He also served as diplomatic protection at the United Nations headquarters in New York, is a classically trained actor, has tended bar, worked in advertising and technology and enjoys nothing more than traveling the world searching for stories.

John lives in New York City with his wife and is the author of articles, short fiction, and the novel Nighthawks. He is an incurable wanderlust and is currently working on the novel The Heart. His first non-fiction book, Diary of a Hippie: A Real-Life Journal of What to Expect During a Total Hip Replacement chronicles his journey from diagnosis through the operation and recovery.

Connect with him at www.johnharbour.com/contact for all social media channels and email.