MAINE: Lobster Roll

Lobster rolls are a specialty from Long Island to the Bay of Fundy, but connoisseurs favor one over all others: Red's Eats. At this summer-only shack about an hour northeast from Portland on Route 1 in Wiscasset—known as the gateway to Midcoast Maine—each roll is made from all the meat of a one-pound lobster, fresh-picked and piled into a toasted, split-top bun, served with a cup of drawn butter or, if you prefer, mayonnaise. There are no itsy-bitsy shreds of lobster here, just large pieces of juicy knuckle meat, tender claw, and resilient tail. Dining is at picnic tables in a patio alongside Route 1. A word of warning is in order: Red's is so well-liked that the wait in line for a lobster roll on a nice summer day can be as long as an hour.

Red's Eats
41 Water Street
Wiscasset, Maine
Tel: 207 882 6128
Open daily from mid-October to mid-April