New England Lobster

We didn't know the bar was notorious. All we knew was that it was lunchtime and we were in Old Saybrook, CT with no clear idea of where to eat, so we pulled into this roadside tavern and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, the $15.00 lobster roll.

We were in New England, after all, and what else does one order in New England except lobster?

It was worth every penny, a nicely grilled soft roll simply stuffed with huge chunks of hot, fresh lobster and nestled up against some nice, crispy-creamy French fries and a little dish of the traditional cole slaw. It was a truly sumptuous lunch that tasted distinctly of the sea.

We weren't bothered by the motorcycles parked outside nor the guys in leather jackets hunched silently over their drinks at the bar while a sports channel showed endless clips of football hits and basketball stretches. We sat outside on the glass porch and enjoyed sunshine as well as the bandy-legged, no-nonsense waitress in Bermuda shorts and running shoes who clearly had worked there since God was a child.

It was only when My Beloved's sister exclaimed when we told her where we ate that we realized we were lucky to be in a rented car so respectable people wouldn't know we were in that bar early in the day, doing who-knows-what in that place!