Lobster roll
A lobster roll is a New England specialty. It’s cooked with lobster meat and is served on a grilled hot dog bun. Butter, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper may be added to the filling, with mayonnaise being substituted for butter in some New England varieties. Other variations may include celery or scallion chopped. The traditional sides are potato chips or french fries.
History
The lobster roll was first served as a hot dish in a restaurant called Perry’s in Milford, Connecticut, in 1929, according to the “Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink.” Its fame then expanded up and down the Connecticut shoreline, but not much further. In Connecticut, a “lobster roll” is a heated sandwich, whereas a “lobster salad roll” is a cold sandwich.
Chopped lobster meat heated in drawn butter was served on a hot dog bun at roadside businesses like Red’s Eats in Maine as early as 1970. Lobster rolls are most typically linked with the state of Maine in the United States, but they can also be found in seafood restaurants throughout New England and on Eastern Long Island, where lobster fishing is popular.