THE Lobster Roll
I got my copy of Food & Wine right before we left for Maine and it listed Bite Into Maine, a foodtruck that operates outside of Portland, on its list of best lobster rolls. Most of the time it is at Ft. Williams Park, home of Portland Headlight. Ernie and Debbie and I decided we had to give it a try so off we went.
Well, first there's the scenery:
So you know it's going to taste pretty good no matter what....
Then there's the food.....AMAZING. The hot dog bun...perfectly toasted...the lobster was as tender and flavorful as I have ever had. Ernie and Debbie went with the classic Maine version---just a little mayo and a few chives. They have six varieties: Maine, Connecticut (warm butter instead of mayo), picnic style which has coleslaw and celery salt and then curry, chipotle and wasabi.
I decided to go with the curry and it was delightful. The curry flavor is sweet and a bit hot but done with great restraint so you mostly just taste the lobster meat. Next time I might go with the picnic version.....
They also sell Moxie which I remember my grandmother talking about. Honestly I don't recall if she liked it or not but it made me think of her so I got one. Now I generally don't drink pop much so I may not be the best judge but I loved it. I even made Ernie get a 12 pack to bring home with us. One got punctured in some kind of unpacking accident but I still have 11! As per Wikipedia,
Moxie isa carbonated beverage that was an early example ofmass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It continues tobe regionally popular today.
Moxie'sflavor is unique, as it is not as sweet as most modern soft drinks and isdescribed by some as "bitter." Moxie is flavored with gentianroot extract, an extremely bitter substance which was reputed to possessmedicinal properties.
Moxie is closely associated with thestate of Maine and was designated the official soft drink of Maine onMay 10, 2005. Its creator, Dr. Augustin Thompson, was born in Union,Maine, but Moxie was invented and first produced in Lowell, Massachusetts.
All in all a perfect Maine lunch. It makes me wistful just to think of it. We did bring back multiple bags of New England hot dog rolls (including supplies for Sue and Mel) but after sitting in the hot car for all those extra days we ended up with most of them going bad. Sigh. Perhaps I need to invest in a special pan......but then I'd still have to come up with the lobster....