A Traditional New England Sandwich

Hi everyone. This is the second day this week where I've posted twice.  I wanted to share my weekly food post at Kathy's Food Wednesday, especially now that for the summer Food Wednesdays is only going to happen on the first Wednesdays of the month.

First let me repost a photo I showed you in the last couple of weeks. 

This past Friday night my husband came home from work early and took me out to dinner. He said he wanted to do something summery as it was a beautiful day and evening.  Plus he said I hadn't had my first lobster roll of the season yet. (On my first trip to Pop's this year the lobster rolls were already sold old.)

I live relatively close to the seacoast (anywhere from a half to an hour away depending where I am exactly going), and the local lobster industry is strong there. That means lobster rolls are on the menus at many restaurants. I think one of the best ones around is at Pop's Clam Shack, which is a seasonal take out restaurant not too far from my house.

I know, the roll is hard to see. Traditionally, New England lobster rolls are served on buttered grilled hot dog rolls (which is New England are traditionally cut along the top not the side). Pops uses mayo to hold the lobster in the  roll together, but in some places butter replaces the mayo. In some places the lobster in the roll is hot, but I prefer cold lobster, and that's what most places in New Hampshire do. 

I had to get a fork to eat some of the lobster, and then I ate the rest of my sandwich in the roll. Lots of restaurants don't fill the rolls as full as Pop's does. I am surprised that this year the cost  at Pop's has only gone up $1 from last year, seeing diesel fuel which many lobster boats run on is over $6 a gallon here in the state. I was talking with my SIL's husband (who works in the food industry in Maine), and he told me that some places in Maine are charging $40 for a lobster roll. OUCH! Right now Pop's is charging $22, which isn't inexpensive by any means, but still in the budget for a couple of summertime splurges before Pop's closes over Labor Day (the first Monday in September).

I may not be able to have many of these this summer, especially if the price goes up any higher, but I will say I did enjoy this one. At Pop's the roll comes with fries, but for $1 more you can upgrade to onion rings which is what I did. 

If you skip the mayo or butter, lobster is pretty healthy to eat, as long as you don't over due your cholesterol for that day because one serving of lobster is about 70% of your daily cholesterol.  But lobster does have a nice amount of omega 3 which helps counteract your blood cholesterol level.  And the grilled hot dog roll doesn't count in these nutritional values either.

Lobster is a low calorie food packed with vitamins and minerals. A 1-cup (145-gram) serving of cooked lobster provides ( 2 ):

...

Nutrition

Calories: 128.

• Protein: 27 grams.
• Fat: 1.2 grams.
• Carbs: 0 grams.
• Copper: 198% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Selenium: 190% of the DV.
• Zinc: 53% of the DV.
• Vitamin B12: 51% of the DV.

OK, enough chatter from me. Happy June to everyone.