Stupid question about lobster bakes

[Squappie]

Being from Texas I am quite ignorant about lobster. Just what is a lobster bake? Is it different from going to a good restaurant and ordering a lobster? I'll be in Bar Harbor in September with a group. My wife wanted me to check into doing a lobster bake....I'm clueless about what she has in mind. Imagine that.... a man admtting that he is clueless about something. wow.

[musicmansmom]

there is no such thing as a '' stupid '' question. i hate to admitt all the things i asked about that i thought were silly or stupid and i got fantastic info about them from the members here.

 

i havent been to one but i am guessing it is relation to being on a certain tour and then having lobster for a meal thrown in. it might even be one that you caught while doing a lobster pull tour. i have read post about there being lobster, corn on the cob, coleslaw and a roll with a beverage, but please dont quote me on that. do a search here for lobster bakes and im sure you find many posts about them. i cant wait to get to portland and have my first maine lobster cooked the way lobster is supposed to be done and eaten. i am going to go to a place called steamers. they say it is very close to the ship . they have pick-nick tables you can set and eat at. i guess you wear a bib and get all messy. sounds great to me :D .

 

have a great time and i hope you get some positive replies to your question.

[Nitemare]

I've lived in New England for just about ever and have never heard of a "Lobster Bake".

 

Clambakes I know about.

 

Google the term, substitute "Lobster" for "clam" (although many/most clambakes include lobster) and you'll see what you're in for.

 

My guess is they changed the name so you know you're getting lobster, while with the term "clambake", you'd probably not know it right off the bat.

 

Great way to get to eat lobster, by the way.

[Jan_In_Maine]

I too have never heard of a lobster bake - but that doesn't really mean anything.(there's lots of "stuff" that I have no clue about). Perhaps it is a picnic style lobster lunch - Jan

 

Ok - so I googled "Bar Harbor Lobster Bakes" and I get all sorts of lobster pounds where you can eat in - check them out - (as "I" think - that having a lobster meal at a local "pound" is the way to go) - but again - everyone is different.

[TheWog]

I agree in not being certain about the term Lobsterbake. If it is a traditional clambake offering lobster it would be different from going to a fine restaurant and ordering a lobster. In my opinion it would be better. There will also be lots of other stuff with it, including steamers, clam chowder, corn on the cob. Go to a local lobster pound as Jan mentioned and ask them to cook up the lobsters there and sit overlooking the harbor. You won't be disappointed.

[musicmansmom]

Being from Texas I am quite ignorant about lobster. Just what is a lobster bake? Is it different from going to a good restaurant and ordering a lobster? I'll be in Bar Harbor in September with a group. My wife wanted me to check into doing a lobster bake....I'm clueless about what she has in mind. Imagine that.... a man admtting that he is clueless about something. wow.

 

i know what you are talking about . it is mentioned on the carnival site for the new england/canada tours. but be carefull, in a reveiw i read the lobster bake was a '' lobster roll '' they gave you with the kayak tour. kind of deceiving IMO. i love carnival but their tours can be a big rip-off. i am planning on getting my lobster from a local in the ports. i cant wait to try it even if it is in a restuarant if i cant get too a pond. only 61 days for me. WHOOO-HOOOOO

[Madeline815]

The traditional lobster bake involves digging a fire pit, preferably on the beach, with hot coals/wood on the bottom, and then cooking a combination of lobster, corn, onions, potatoes and clams in the fire pit. Wet seaweed is also used to create sort of a moist environment as it is laid over the food in the fire pit. Sometimes in our Portuguese areas like Fall River, sausage is added to the menu. I have seen all of the items put into individual serving sized net bags, covered in the pit and cooked, and then the bags are pulled out and the contents are put on your plate still in the bag. You then cut it open and go to town! Today, however, restaurants and tour operators use the term loosely to mean a meal at which you get clams (steamed), lobster (steamed or boiled) and then corn. Sometimes potatoes, sometimes onions, sometimes not.

Any way you cook it, it's good eating!

[bjkTX]

so I'm doing lots of fun research.

 

On our first visit we did a "lobster" lunch with a ship tour and it was great. We had bowls of clams (mussels?) that we liked so much we asked for seconds. Then they had us go through a line and they put a lobster on our plate right out of the pot, then corn on the cob, potatoes etc. We loved it and right now I'm trying decide to take another tour that includes it - or search for one I can do on my own. Either way it has to be better than Texas lobster....

[LONESTAR 101]

so I'm doing lots of fun research.

 

On our first visit we did a "lobster" lunch with a ship tour and it was great. We had bowls of clams (mussels?) that we liked so much we asked for seconds. Then they had us go through a line and they put a lobster on our plate right out of the pot, then corn on the cob, potatoes etc. We loved it and right now I'm trying decide to take another tour that includes it - or search for one I can do on my own. Either way it has to be better than Texas lobster....

Hey,

Where do you think Texas gets their Lobsters! They are Imported!Grinning!

[bjkTX]

Yes they are - at 10 cents a mile :-)

[TheWog]

Hey,

Where do you think Texas gets their Lobsters! They are Imported!Grinning!

Isn't that a scorpion? :D :eek:

[cynbar]

I am familiar with lobster bakes, every summer several organizations here on the Cape do them as fundraisers. They are indeed like a clambake but with the emphasis on lobster ---- all of the food, lobster and clams and potatoes and hot dogs and linguica and corn on the cob, is cooked in a big pit in the ground, with hot coals and lined then covered with fresh seaweed (for taste and moisture.)Chowder is usually served first, with rolls. The aroma of all this cooking is fantastic, and the taste is different than if you eat the same food cooked separately on the stove. If you have a chance, try it --- often they are done on a beach, which is an added plus. But I agree with the above, be careful you're getting a real lobster bake and not an imitation!!

[bjkTX]

You're making me hungry and we don't leave for 90 days!

[musicmansmom]

i will try to find a lobster bake in saint john. it is the port that i have alot of time to do something and havent yet made any plans.

 

you are just evil to make my mouth water so much :D

[Winner]

Hot dogs??? Not in the New England I know.

[Parrot Mom]

Certainly there are lobster bakes....but they are usually a little bit more and do include clams, corn, potatoes, seaweed, etc.. I don't know if you'll find one at the ports, but In St. John....when your walking back to the ship from the tourist area...on the left hand side there is a lobster shack... where you go and order your lobster and whatever else.. and then they call your number...and you can pig out.. Bar Harbor is the best and I mean as a Bostonian I can tell you the darn best lobster I have EVER had.. As your walking down the hill and you get to the water.. take a left.. and go over the bridge.. and on the right hand side is a large lobster shack.. You go in.. pick the size lobster you want from a tank, hard or soft shell, we added clams and corn...and an iced coffee.. They put your lobsters, clams and corn in a net and put it into cook.. When your number is called.. you pick it up.. and then we sent across the little area upstairs and sat down and pigged out on TWO pound lobsters each, steam clams, corn and iced coffee.. It was in 2003.. approximately $50.00 for the two of us.. a true bargain.. and then we rolled back to the ship..lol There must be an abundance of lobsters now as many restaurants in the Boston area are having great prices.. But up in Maine...and the colder the water, the sweeter the lobster. Try to get clams NOT mussels...mussels are a bit stronger and steamed clams are so much sweeter... dipped in butter or just the broth

[SailBadtheSinner]

Bar Harbor is the best and I mean as a Bostonian I can tell you the darn best lobster I have EVER had.. As your walking down the hill and you get to the water.. take a left.. and go over the bridge.. and on the right hand side is a large lobster shack..

 

clarification needed here:

your walking down the hill and you get to the water – you are walking down Main St towards the town dock;

And you take a left which would be West St which is the last street before the harbor;

and go over the bridge – there is no bridge on West St;

on the right hand side is a large lobster shack – on the right would be maybe 2 restaurants (none of which I would call a shack), newly opened ice cream parlor, ticket booth for whale cruises, large motel, & BH Club and then all residential to the intersection with Route 3; sorry no shack (as of 6/06)

 

I’m sure you had an excellent lobster in BH; but too much cruising leads to location confusion; happens to all of us .

 

Map of BH: http://*****.com/8jga9

 

 

 

SBtS

[bjkTX]

not that it takes all that much....

[SailBadtheSinner]

My intent was not to confuse.

 

Soooooooooo if you want lobster in BH, the first street you come to after the tender drops you off is West St. After the tender drop off, take a right onto West St.; go one block and look on left for the West St. Café (http://www.weststreetcafe.com/default.asp?id=1 ).

 

You get good food, fresh lobster, delicious blueberry pie, and all at a reasonable price (for BH). Nothing fancy but you can’t go wrong by eating there.

 

 

 

SBtS

[bjkTX]

I'm looking forward to visiting Bar Harbor again - and enjoying the people and the food!

[daryleann]

In your post you mentioned St. John's for lobster. I'm finally learning to ask if you mean NB or Newfoundland... as we all seem to be using the name/abbreviations interchangeably...

Thanks for the advice. I'm not one for lobster (could be the horrific price in land-locked Denver :eek: ) or could be the melted butter. So I'm looking forward to trying some locally on our cruise!

[daryleann]

somehow it entered twice and it won't let me erase this...

[tom1841]

Remmember it's pronounced BaaaaaaaHaaaaBaaaaa.......HAVE FUN !

[vacationhappy]

I am from New England and there is nothing like an authentic lobsterbake (or clambake) in Maine. The lobsters are cooked in seawater (or baked in a sand pit - that is the real deal). It is a summmer tradition in New England. In Maine you wil probably get bluebery pie for dessert but some places offer strawberry short cake - Yum.

[c breeze]

My intent was not to confuse.

 

Soooooooooo if you want lobster in BH, the first street you come to after the tender drops you off is West St. After the tender drop off, take a right onto West St.; go one block and look on left for the West St. Café (http://www.weststreetcafe.com/default.asp?id=1 ).

 

You get good food, fresh lobster, delicious blueberry pie, and all at a reasonable price (for BH). Nothing fancy but you can’t go wrong by eating there.

 

 

 

SBtS

 

Thanks for this info! we will be in Bar Harbor in two weeks and plan to spend the day walking around the town, and this will be our lunch stop!