I am originally from Boston and summer in Gloucester and Rockport every year where my family has a clam & lobster bake. I know my lobster rolls and have eaten thousands of them. I was in Delray for a wedding last weekend and was driving down Atlantic Blvd when I saw a sign for Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll on Atlantic. We were starving so we stopped to grab a lobster roll. It was expensive, yes ($15.50 for 1/4lb lobster roll w/ chips, sweet pickles, and slaw), but absolutely phenomenal and the best lobster roll I have tasted outside of New England.

First thing I noticed was a nice piece of claw meat on the top of the roll. Claw meat is the best meat on the lobster!! It is the sweetest and most tender and flavorful. Linda Bean’s lobster roll was LOADED with claw meat and I couldn’t have been happier. Second thing I noticed was that they only use a little mayo so you get the full flavor of the lobster along with a little of their dry seasoning which I believe contained celery flake and a little dill. Third, the bun. They use authentic New England hot dog rolls that stand up on their own because they have a flat bottom. Those are so hard to find down here that there is even a thread on the Florida Chowhound board about where to find them. The bun was toasted on the flat top with a little butter which adds another flavor element to the lobster roll. A lobster roll is not supposed to be hot or warm. The bun should be toasted, that’s it.

We loved that lobster roll so much that when we saw a parking spot out in front of Linda Bean’s the following day, we just had to go grab a lobster roll for the road. It wasn’t the first lobster roll I’ve eaten behind the wheel and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I just hope they open one of these up in Miami (which I believe there is a rumor that they could be looking to do just that).