Gritty McDuff's Brew Pub

187 Lower Main Street
Freeport, ME 04032
(207) 865-4321
Website

Freeport Maine is known for their reasonably priced active outdoor-wear, and Gritty McDuff's (probably). This place is pretty well known in Maine, and so I generally make it a point to visit when I am in the Pine Tree State for some beers and decent bar food. Check out the bowl of Iggy Azalea below. Just kidding, it is actually lobster bisque, not clam chowder.

It was certainly creamy. And had lobster chunks. I would have loved some sherry swirled in, or some heat to it, but overall it was solid comfort food.

One of the more interesting things I tried was the barley battered fried chicken sandwich. The chicken was great, a nice hearty crunch, and the portion was huge. I would have liked the Swiss to be melted, however.

Honey mustard, bacon, lettuce, tomato. Good bar food.

A pair of lobster rolls (it IS Maine after all) were again pretty tasty, though obviously nothing gourmet about them. For about $14, it was a nice deal, and made for a tasty bar bite.

The lobster was fresh and well cooked, nothing rubbery here.

A bit of bib lettuce made this basically a salad.

I would certainly order all of the above again, but would love if they stepped it up JUST A BIT. Either way, when you have bought all of the plaid shirts and rubber boots you can carry, this place is the next stop for a pint and bite.

Luke's Lobster

11 Water St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201 ‎
(917) 882-7516
Website

I was in Brooklyn for work, a continuing trend these days, and I had a craving for lobster. And butter. So I had to check out the DUMBO branch of Luke's Lobster. They have one in Rittenhouse now as well, so I am going to say that they are probably nearly identical in output. With no factual basis for that bold assertion.

The view from the one in Brooklyn is slightly better. Okay, this is like 20 feet from the stand. Close enough.

The building is a small outpost, one half being a "sub" shop (ahem, hoagie) and the other half is Luke's.

It's not cheap. Mostly because it's a hot dog bun filled with lobster. Just "shell out" fifteen "clams", and this non-native regional delicacy can be imported to your stomach.

I first made my offering to the East River, then I began to dine.

I loved the tender claw meat, lightly tossed with mayo, lemon, and a shake of celery seed. The meat was perfectly cooked, the bread nicely buttered and toasted. This cool crustacean made for an appropriate rich man's hot dog.

A walk back downtown made for a great evening.