“Every person that crosses the border, that’s one thing they want,” says Kathy Gunst, a longtime Mainer and a James Beard Award-winning food journalist. She’s referring to a lobster roll, a toasted bun with plump lobster meat tucked into it. It’s one of the quintessential dishes of the state that can be eaten year-round, though most of us know it as a summer special to be enjoyed on a picnic bench, oceanside.
Lobster rolls and their many variations (think: lobster dressed with brown butter and stuffed into a Chinese bun) are available across the country for about $20, but the two classic varieties originate from Maine and Connecticut. The few hours' drive between the two states separates their lobster roll styles by a world. “People have deep allegiances,” to their favorite places and preferred style, says Gunst. (In Maine, that's traditionally cold lobster meat, while in Connecticut, it's warm.)
While the origin of Maine lobster sandwiches is murkier than the Atlantic, the original, warm lobster roll came from the now shuttered Perry’s in Milford, Connecticut—though it was prepared differently than the lobster rolls of today—which started serving them in 1926, according to Sally Lerman, the author of Lobster Rolls of New England and self-proclaimed “lobster gal.”
If you’re traveling through New England this summer, it’s best to know which style is the local one, and whether you’re a person who likes it hot—or not.
What It Has
Maine: An authentic Maine lobster roll should be: “A hot dog roll, center cut, that is toasted—preferably buttered and then toasted—filled with nothing but fresh lobster meat; big chunks, not shredded, not frozen,” Gunst says. The meat is tossed with mayo, giving it a blush hue and a creaminess. “That’s your grade-A lobster roll.” (Sometimes, there may be small pieces of celery mixed in for added crunch.)
Connecticut: Varieties closer to the 42nd parallel (which runs just below Connecticut’s northern border) have warm lobster meat in them and nothing else, though lettuce may make an appearance here and there, Lerman says. ("Some people think it keeps the bun from getting soggy,” she says.) Connecticut lobster is also typically redder than its Maine counterpart. That color comes from the fact that instead of mayo, lobster meat is warmed up with, or dressed with, butter, Lerman says. It’s then stuffed into a warm, toasted New England-style bun, center cut often with white bread-like sides instead of a crust.
What It Doesn't Have
Maine: While variations are on the rise at places like Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, which serves their lobster rolls in those aforementioned steamed Chinese buns, others believe the lobster roll shouldn’t be messed with. If you ask a roll purveyor “‘Oh, do you put chives, or add lettuce, or a tomato?’ people will look at you, horrified,” Gunst says. “It’s like saying to a New Yorker, ‘Do you put mustard on your bagel?’”
Connecticut: This lobster roll isn’t going to have cold meat or mayo. “That’s not a lobster roll, that’s a lobster salad roll,” says Lerman of the Pine Tree State's iteration. “When they say that in Connecticut they are usually saying it [as a] derogatory reference to Maine.” Yes, there are fighting words when it comes to lobster rolls.
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