From clam shacks to high-end restaurants, the lobster roll has become a quintessential item on the menu in RI. In early 20th century New England, fishing folk put lobster meat into buns for convenient meals. A hot buttered lobster roll made its debut at Perry’s Restaurant in Connecticut in 1929. In a decade, a cold mayonnaise-based lobster roll was created in Maine, which became popular during the postwar years at roadside stands and clam shacks. Leave it to the quirky Ocean State to come up with idiosyncratic variations, many memorable, and all delicious.
But before beginning our Rhode trip through the taste buds, we must acknowledge the absence of the stellar lobster roll served at Matunuck Oyster Bar in Wakefield, which was gutted by fire on May 20. The blaze left 300 people unemployed, and a legion of sad patrons. Perry Rasso, the owner, says he’s committed to reopening. Area restaurants and businesses have pitched in. “We’ve already hired several people, and will hire more,” says Sara Messier, the office manager of George’s of Galilee in Narragansett. “We’re not poaching the Matunuck employees. We’re there to bridge the gap, and help them pay their bills, until the reopening,” she emphasizes.
Area restaurants and businesses have pitched in. “We’ve already hired several people, and will hire more,” says Sara Messier, the office manager of George’s of Galilee in Narragansett. “We’re not poaching the Matunuck employees. We’re there to bridge the gap, and help them pay their bills, until the reopening,” she emphasizes.
CLAM SHACKS
For outdoor eating and to relive the early days of lobster rolls, go to a clam shack. They’re open spring through fall.
Blount Clam Shack on the Waterfront in Warren offers a giant lobster roll, ½ pound, and a small lobster roll, ¼ pound, prepared three ways: cold with house-made dill mayo; cold with warm butter on the side, or warm, tossed in butter.
Dune Brothers has a seasonal shack in downtown PVD and one in Riverside, a year-round restaurant in Fox Point, and an eatery at Track 15, both in PVD. Its lobster roll has tail, claw, and knuckle meat, served with warm butter sauce on a toasted brioche.
Flo’s Clam Shack in Middletown offers a cold lobster roll with mayo on the side.
Monahan’s Clam Shack By the Sea in Narragansett serves a hot lobster roll lightly sauteed in drawn butter and seasoning, and a cold lobster roll lightly dressed with mayo and seasoning. It calls itself the “Home of Rhode Island’s Famous Lobster Roll” which is in keeping with its location at the end of the town’s famous mile-long seawall.
Newport Chowder Company in Newport offers 4 oz. and 6 oz. lobster rolls, served cold or hot.
ON THE WATERFRONT
TwoTen Oyster Bar & Grill in South Kingstown reopened in May after being closed for nearly a year following a fire. It overlooks Marina Bay Docking. What sets TwoTen apart? Says General Manager Jan Lugo, “We use an 8-inch submarine roll. We stayed away from hot dog rolls.” Served cold or hot, “Lobster roll is our No. 1 selling item.”
Crow’s Nest Fish House & Oyster Bar in Warwick sits opposite the Ponaug Marina. “We have the best lobster roll,” says Chef Deivin Agustin. “We buy the lobster meat fresh. We make it fresh two times during the day, three or four times when it’s really busy.” Manager Hunter Gautieri observes that hot lobster rolls are gaining ground on the traditional chilled ones. “I’ve been here for 9 years, and it’s only been in the past 6 months that more and more people are asking for hot lobster rolls,” he says. Crow’s Nest also serves a half lobster roll with a cup of clam chowder.
Also on the water, The Wharf in Warren offers chilled and hot lobster rolls, The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar in Newport has lobster roll with lemon-chive aioli and celery on a toasted brioche bun, 22 Bowen’s Wharf in Newport serves garlic butter poached lobster on grilled brioche, and cold lobster salad with lemon mayo on brioche.
ROUNDING OUT THE LIST:
Coast Guard House in Narragansett serves chilled lobster salad with fresh herbs, citrus aioli and lettuce on buttered brioche. The Boat House in Tiverton offers big chunks of Maine lobster with herbed mayo on a grilled brioche bun. Castle Hill Inn in Newport has a New England lobster roll with tarragon creme-fraiche at its Lawn Terrace and its Terrace Bar. The Bistro at Ocean House in Waverly offers a lunchtime New England lobster roll with lemon dressing on brioche, served hot or cold. It has a lobster cobb salad on the menu too. Its Verandah Raw Bar has a cold lobster roll on brioche with fine herbs, and a hot lobster roll with Vermont butter on brioche.
RIFFS ON A ROLL
RI being a hot spot for foodies, it’s no surprise there are some out-of-the-ordinary variations on the lobster roll. For instance, Hemenway’s Restaurant in PVD has a unique one served sushi-style. Called Native lobster roll, it comes with Japanese long green onions called negi, pickled beech mushrooms to give it pop, nuoc cham aioli, which is a Vietnamese dipping sauce made from bottled fish sauce, water, sugar, and citrus, and chili crisp. “We use the same ingredients as high-end sushi bars, and these high-quality products come from Japan,” explains Executive Chef Austin Hamilton, who devised Hemenway’s new sushi program while the restaurant was closed for three months for remodeling.
Lobster Bar, at the end of Bowen’s Wharf in Newport, offers a Lobster Flight of three lobster roll sliders: one traditional, one naked, and one fried, served with hot butter and garlic aioli. Its Lobster Bar Burger boasts 8 oz. of ground sirloin topped with brie cheese, fresh lobster meat, bacon jam, lettuce and tomato, and is served on a brioche bun. It also serves chilled and hot lobster rolls.
HITTING THE BEACHES
Iconic Iggy’s serves Maine lobster knuckle and claw meat mixed with mayo and celery on a grilled brioche roll with green leaf, as well as butterpoached knuckle and claw meat on grilled brioche roll with green leaf, at its Boardwalk restaurant and Doughboys & Chowder House at Oakland Beach in Warwick, and at its Doughboys & Chowder House near Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett. “It’s one of our staples,” says Stephanie Metivier, a manager at Iggy’s Boardwalk. George’s of Galilee stuffs its lobster rolls, Messier says. The restaurant serves a cold one with 5 oz. of fresh claw and knuckle meat with light mayo on a grilled buttered roll, and a hot one with 6 oz. of claw and knuckle meat sauteed with butter. North of George’s lies the terminal for the ferry to Block Island. After a 55-minute regular ride or a 30-minute high-speed one, the ferry docks in Old Harbor, within sight of Ballard’s Beach Resort. And true to the island’s piratical past — the legend of Captain Kidd’s buried treasure persists to this day — Ballard’s has a veritable trove of lobster rolls, four of them, on the menu. Its classic New England lobster roll has chilled lobster meat lightly tossed in lemon mayo nestled in a buttered brioche roll.
The VIP hot lobster roll offers butter-poached lobster served warm with a whisper of tarragon on a toasted brioche bun, crowned with lemon and Ballard’s signature garlic drawn butter. Its California lobster roll is lobster salad with creamy avocado, crispy bacon, and citrus-kissed aioli, served on a croissant. The lobster grilled cheese has chunks of buttery lobster between melted fontina and sharp white cheddar, layered with smokey chipotle mayo, on pressed Texas toast. And in the end, whether hot or cold, traditional or inventive, the Ocean State has a lobster roll for just about every taste. •
A good ol’ classic roll from Lobster Bar in Newport.
