Hi there, thanks for reading today’s food critic review at the Blind Taste Test! Normally it takes me a week or two to write up a blog posting because, I must admit, I’m a bit of a perfectionist. However, I feel that I must blog about my delicious lunch today at Luke’s Lobster:
Luke’s Lobster
242 E. 81st Street (between second and Third Avenue)
New York NY
4.25 stars out of 5 stars
Background:
Luke’s Lobster is a great mini-chain of seafood restaurants (and one food truck) in New York City whose specialty is, you guessed it, lobster rolls. While their prices are not inexpensive, you would definitely pay substantially more for the same quality and quantity of food in a fancier restaurant. The location where I dined today is located in the upper east side of Manhattan. While the staff are friendly, it is not a particularly large space which is why my previous experiences here have consisted of take out or, one time when I felt really lazy, delivery. The following review will rely mostly on the sense of taste because my other senses did not play a vital role in my meal today.
I was particularly hungry so I shared what they call the Noah’s Ark: (a meal of biblical proportion!) each person receives a half of a lobster roll, half of a crab roll, half of a shrimp roll, two crab claws, a bag of chips, and a Maine Root soda. Before you start commenting about how much food I ate, let me say… ok I have no excuse, I just love great food. I chose Smokehouse BBQ chips which were exactly what I was craving: these chips were beyond crispy, (I could definitely tell they came from potatoes) with a sweet and slightly spicy barbecue flavor which was not overpowering. I also selected a lemon lime soda which was well suited for a warm summer time day; it was quite refreshing and a really nice change from my usual diet sodas. The crab claws were fresh and I felt as if they came directly from Maine. (It turns out they do come from Maine but I had no idea at the time.) Now, let’s get to the real issue at hand: the rolls! I’ll rank them from worst to best.
3. The shrimp roll: First of all, considering how tasty this was, it says a lot for Luke’s Lobster that this was the “worst” roll. My only issue was that the shrimp were small; I would have preferred the jumbo variety instead of these baby shrimp. That being said, the roll was toasted and had a buttery flavor even though the staff complied with my request for no butter. (To make this clear, butter is a positive factor when it comes to seafood rolls but I would rather control how much butter is used myself.)
2. The crab roll: Similar to the claws, the crab used in this roll was excellent with a flavor that was both clean and tangy at the same time. The roll was an exact replica of the one used for the shrimp and I would be very happy to order this again.
1. The lobster roll: Come on, it’s in the name of the restaurant after all! Why do you think they call it Luke’s Lobster? Seriously, this lobster was in big chunks which were incredibly delicious. My crisp roll was filled to the top, if not overflowing, with outstanding lobster which would rival that of most seafood restaurants but at a lower price. The next time I come back here, I am ordering a whole lobster roll.
So there you have it, now I’m back in my apartment trying to recover from this terrific feast. It should not be surprising that I wholeheartedly recommend Luke’s Lobster for anyone who enjoys high quality seafood.
As you might remember from my last post, I have teamed up with a company called Eversave which is bringing my readers some great deals and this great offer: If you sign up at Eversave in the next two days, they will give you ten dollars to use for their great daily deals. If you are interested in signing up, please click here.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
p.s. Don’t forget to vote for me!
Dan