Pier 9

"J" and I tried the newly opened Pier 9 restaurant located in NYC's Hell's Kitchen at 802 Ninth Avenue.

We started with the lobster macaroni and cheese ($12) which was not what we expected. It was 6 rings of pasta covered with "cheese fondue" and topped a small nugget of lobster.

"J" had the lobster roll ($24) and I had the Chicago style lobster hot dog ($17) which was a lobster and shrimp "hot dog" topped with lobster (salad) mayo with peppers, lettuce and tomato. Both were served with limp fries.

For dessert we had the S'mores donut ($8) which was a full size donut covered with marshmallow fluff and topped with chocolate ice cream.

The food was just okay, but the setting made you feel like you were by the water - clean and white with sail cloth room dividers.

Limelight Marketplace Grill

...is located in the courtyard of the former Limelight at the corner of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue in NYC's Chelsea.

I tried the lobster roll - not bad for $10. There were nice chunks of lobster meat, but a little too much mayo. I also had a Stewart's cream soda ($2).

The food offerings in the Marketplace are much more interesting than the clothes and shoes.

Ed's Lobster Bar

...is located at 222 Lafayette Street in NYC's SoHo. Yes, it's a knockoff of Pearl's in Greenwich Village (one of my favs), but it's still a good restaurant.

Each place setting has a small bag of oyster crackers. We were given lobster risotto as a complimentary amuse bouche - delicious!

"J" had the fried Ipswich clams (MP $17) - big, plump whole clams lightly battered with cornmeal and the lobster roll with fries (MP $27) - always delicious. She also had a Schweppes ginger ale ($3).

I had the crab and cheese dip with toast points ($10) and lobster pot pie ($22) - both were very good and quite filling. I also had a Limeade ($5).

For dessert we shared a slice of cherry crumble pie a la mode ($7) which was very good with big, whole cherries.

And they gave us mini dark chocolate lobsters after dessert.

Another great meal!

Lobstah Roll

Legal Seafood has a restaurant inside the Boston Logan Airport near Gates A3 and A4 called LTK (Legal Test Kitchen). They serve a wonderful lobster roll - the largest one I have ever encountered with fries for MP (today was $22.95).

It comes with a split top grilled & buttered bun that is longer than the regular hot dog buns used for lobster rolls (and for hot dogs). And it overflowing with big chunks of lobster meat with just a little mayo. And the fries are delicious.

This made for a great lunch while waiting for my flight.

Ed's Chowder House

This restaurant is located in the Empire Hotel in NYC's Upper West Side near Lincoln Center at 44 West 63rd Street.

I recently read a review that said the lobster rolls were very good and since I LOVE lobster rolls "J" and I went to check them out.

We were immediately seated at one of the tall tables at the Chowder Bar and given a basket of different breads. The corn bread was very good. The jalapeno bread was tasty and not too spicy.

We both ordered the homemade lemonade ($5), started with the fried calamari appetizer ($11), we both had a lobster roll ($24 each), a side of seasoned fries ($6) and shared a dessert of lemon meringue pie ($8).

The lemonade was very good, fresh and tart. The fried calamari was crisp and served with a spicy remoulade sauce. The lobster roll was very good - nice meaty chunks of lobster with preserved-lemon aioli served on a split top toasted and buttered brioche bun with a side of coleslaw. But I felt for the $24 they should have also served it with fries. The side order of seasoned fries was very good.

The lemon meringue pie was very good with tall peaks of meringue, but not much crust.

The restaurant was well decorated with real lemons on the wall shelves. I would return to order from the regular restaurant menu and try their other offerings.

Luke's Lobster

Lobster rolls are one of my (many) favorite foods. This new (and very small) restaurant specializes in Maine lobster (supplied by the owner's father who is a lobsterman) in NYC's East Village at 93 East 7th Street.

They also serve crab and shrimp rolls. I couldn't decide so I had the "A Taste of Maine" sampler which included a small version (really, 1/2 rolls) of each: lobster, crab and shrimp rolls. They were out of empress crab claws so they knocked off a $1 from the usual $20 price and threw in a pickle and offered a hug (a literaly/physical hug from one of the employees which I declined). This combo also included a Miss Vickie's bag of potato chips and a soft drink.

A regular size lobster roll is $14.

Each roll is served on a expertly toasted warm and buttered roll. I liked the lobster roll with just a hint of mayo, but was also impressed with the crab roll and shrimp roll.

Brooklyn Lobster Rolls

Before the end of summer and the Brooklyn Flea we paid another visit to the Lobster Pound for lobster rolls. They are still very good and worth the $13 price. The lobster is fresh and plentiful with just a dash of paprika and scallions in a buttered and grilled bun.

The Brooklyn Flea has added picnic tables to enjoy your eats.

Fairway lobster roll

As you can tell I seem to eat a lot of lobster rolls. This is true. It's one of my favorite foods (but, then again, that is very long list). Anyway, for over a year now I have wanted to go to Red Hook, Brooklyn to try the Fairway lobster roll. I finally made it over there and was very impressed. They actually make the rolls to order, buttering and grilling each bun, they are generous with the lobster meat and serve the roll with potato chips, cole slaw and a pickle. All this for the very reasonable price of $9.99 (plus tax).

And this Fairway has a nice outdoor seating area on the water with a lovely view of the Statue of Liberty.

This is how I "roll" in Brooklyn

Yes, I trekked all the way to DUMBO to the the Brooklyn Flea to try the Lobster Pound's lobster roll.

Yes, I stood in line for more than 45 minutes eagerly awaiting my turn.

Yes, I brought a friend (T -thanks for waiting with me) so we could take turns holding our place in line to run up and look at the offerings and return back and report to each other.

Yes, every 5 minutes I craned my neck and counted the number of people still in front of me on the line.

Yes, I worried that they might run out of lobster rolls before it was my turn.

Yes, it was worth the wait to pay $13.00 for a lobster roll. The meat was chunky and flavorful with just a little butter and paprika. The roll was a split top hot dog bun that was grilled and buttered.

No. I did not take a photo of my lobster roll because I was too busy eating it.

Yes, I regretted ordering only one lobster roll. I should have ordered two.

Yes, I will return to do it again on another Sunday.

Hey, Hey! Xie Xie

I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of this Hell's Kitchen area restaurant - which features an asian fusion interpretation of the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich. They offered a lobster roll version made with Kewpie mayo (you may have seen this sold in Asian grocery stores - it has the cute little kewpie character on the bottle), tarragon and fried shallots for $14.00. It had a little too much mayo for my taste and the bun was neither toasted/grilled or buttered (the bun, in my book, makes or breaks the lobster roll).

I ended my meal with the "1000 Year Old" Ice Cream Sandwich which had oozing black caramel in the center for $4.00.

Xie Xie

645A 9th Avenue

NY, NY 10036