A big thank you to everyone who has left suggestions for lobster shacks in the New England area for the HH and I to check out. We are having a blast researching the different towns and have a HUGE list of places we want to visit. Date days haven’t been this varied or tasty in a long time. 🙂
Last week we took your suggestion and headed to Essex, Massachusetts to eat lunch at Woodman’s of Essex. Woodman’s has been around for over 100 years and it’s easy to see why people keep coming back.
If you’re in a hurry and don’t want to wait in line for the restaurant {the line does move pretty fast though} you can get a boiled lobster and butter to go outside. Which begs the question, how does one eat a boiled lobster with butter on the go? Maybe you know the answer to that one, because I don’t.
So many choices! It was a good thing that the line was long. I don’t know about your husband, but mine has to read every single thing on the menu before he can order. Even if it’s a place he’s been to like a million times. I don’t get it. I am the complete opposite. I think it’s a strange habit.
Back in the day you could get a plate of fried clams for $1.00. Nowadays, a plate of fried clams will set you back a whopping $25.99! Wowie zowie.
This time around the HH tried the fully belly clams and said he liked them. When I asked which ones he preferred {the full belly clams or clams strips from Bob’s Clam Hut} he said that although there was a distinct difference between the two, he actually liked both styles of fried clams about the same. Which for some reason I thought was kind of funny. Because you know, it’s either one or the other, right? Well apparently not.
Since I’m not a seafood person, I ordered the hot dog. Which tasted, well, like a hot dog. BUT THE BUN…. the bun was good. It was the same kind of thick toasted bun I ate at Red’s Eats. And now I can’t imagine eating a hot dog on any other kind of bun. Do these buns have a special name? They are almost like super thick toast, but shaped like a hot dog bun. Anyway, I need to find them.
Woodman’s of Essex, the food, atmosphere and waitstaff get a 5 out of 5 stars.
Where should be eat next? Do you have a favorite lunch spot in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine? We’re up for anything!
~Mavis
 Woodman’s of Essex
121 Main St, Essex, MA 01929
Mrs. C. says
I think those are lobster roll buns, Mavis.
Melissa says
I was going to say the same thing – basically a lovely brioche like this recipe
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/new-england-hot-dog-buns-recipe
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks for the recipe link Melissa!
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s it? That is what they are called. Well that was easy. Thanks Mrs. c.
bonnie says
The buns are actually New England style hotdog rolls!!
Barbara Chace says
New England style hot dog buns is the correct answer. Now that i’ve moved to Maine from Seattle, I am loading up on the things that I couldn’t get in Seattle.
Jamie says
If I like something at a restaurant I will order it every single time we eat there. Why risk getting something I don’t like?
My husband on the other hand will look at a menu so long, the waiter might have to come by a second time to see if we’re ready to order. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve eaten there. We like to tease him that if he ever has a long hospital stay, we’ll just bring him a pile of menus to his favorite restraunts to read instead of books! Haha…husbands are the best!!!
CT Bargain Mom says
Call them and ask about the buns -easiest solution. As for clams? Sea Swirl in Mystic, CT is awesome! As is Lenny & Joes in Clinton, CT. And both have hot dogs and ice cream -yum!
Alice says
CT Bargain Mom! My youngest daughter is interning at the Mystic Museum this summer! All alone all the way to CT from Michigan and she knows nobody. I want to visit but I’m scared driving from Michigan and more scared to fly in to Providence, RI and then drive to Mystic. I don’t even know where to lodge because I just don’t know the area.
Alice
Julie says
Hi Mavis, have you been to The Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, ME? The view there is amazing! I went there in 2012 and thought the food was very good. We all had lobster rolls. Our first time!
Mavis Butterfield says
No, but I’m putting it on our list!!! Thanks Julie.
Rosaleen says
Pack a picnic lunch and check out Saugus Iron Works NHP. Fascinating!
https://www.nps.gov/sair/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm
244 Central St
Saugus, MA 01906
S says
I’ll second Saugus Iron Works, Rosaleen. It’s 10 minutes from my home and a real gem!
Katelyn says
I work for a commercial bakery in NE – we make both regular style hot dog buns and the buns you’re referring to – they’re typically exactly the same dough, just cut differently. The cut on the top like that just makes it a New England style bun. I grew up in VT and didn’t even realize they made another kind of hot dog bun until I was in my 20s!
Lisa Rostocki says
I never knew there was another type of hot dog bun either until I was older. Only had the top split buns my entire life until I moved out on my own. Still prefer them too. I know that Shaw’s used to even have their own name brand where I used to live in Mass.
Mavis Butterfield says
Isn’t that funny? I never knew there was a New England style bun!!! 🙂 I love all the fun new things I am discovering.
Kerri Adams says
King Arthur’s sells bun pans to make those buns. Just search for hot dog bun pan.
Pam H. says
I missed something…. what’s in the foil-wrapped packet? Is that the lobster to go? 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Corn on the cob.
Linda Noss says
Not necessarily lobster or clams but a great spot for breakfast is Kitchen little. Mystic, CT. Great views of the Mystic River.
Lacy says
If you haven’t checked out Newport,RI yet,it’s a must see! The old homes are amazing and you can take tours. The town is old, beautiful,and gorgeous. Brick Alley Pub has the best lobster Mac and cheese! I believe there is also a Flo’s Clam Shack in Newport by First Beach that my husband really enjoyed. I also think there was place called Anthony’s that had fresh seafood as well, I believe that one was in Middletown though. Aquidneck island has tons of fun things to check out! I’m partial because we lived there for about 2 years.
Laura says
Was jumping in to talk about Newport RI (which you would love Mavis!). We lived in Middletown but used to frequent The Black Pearl, along with Brick Alley Pub. The clam chowdah was awesome at both places! My dad managed to get the recipe for the one at Black Pearl and it was surprising to say the least!!
Jennifer G says
C-Ray Lobster – best lobster roll EVER! No indoor seating and they sell out most days. C-Rays address is 882 STATE HIGHWAY 3, BAR HARBOR, MAINE 04609. Great local place with zero ambiance, just wonderful food.
C says
Hi, Mavis!
Those are New England style hot dog buns. My favorite! Unfortunately, they are hard to come by here in the South. King Arthur flour sells a New England style hot dog bun pan.
Try Sea View Snack Bar in Mystic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England-style_hot_dog_bun
Brianna says
I usually end of ordering for my hubby. He wil constantly look at the menu and can’t decide and I get impatient waiting or the waitress makes several swoops by the table to see if we are ready. I just order for his indecisiveness and most of the time he likes what I order him, sometimes we switch meals though. If I have to wait 20 minutes for my food, I’m not spending 20 additional minutes making a decision on what sound good. You either know what you want or you don’t, that’s why he has a wife, otherwise he’d starve looking at the menu all day. I hate going out to eat with him because he often asks the waitress, “what do you recommend?” As if she knows what he would enjoy or hate? I do think places that have multiple pages of menu items are terrible though, too many decisions for anybody. We went to a place a few weeks ago and the kids menu had probably a 30 items on it! The main menu was just as bad with at least 50 different salads.
Lissa says
Many, many years as a waitress here. It’s smart to ask servers what they recommend because they know the items that are popular and taste good.
E in Upstate NY says
Carry out lobster, for me, is the way to go! My husband refuses to let me order a lobster to eat IN public! When I’m finished, there isn’t much left of it. Besides, taking the lobster home, I get to use the leftover pieces to make seafood broth. [I save all the little tails from shrimp to add when making seafood broth.]
sunshineshed says
Did you know that lobster used to be a food that only poor people would eat? It wasn’t fashionable in high society and it was served in prisons. Now we stand in line for hours at a lobster shack and pay $25+ for a sandwich.
Your lunches look so yummy! I’m sure it’s well worth the cost, but you’re making me thankful that we live about 90 minutes from the (west) coast or else I might go broke! I love seafood.
Mary Ann says
Yep, as someone else said, it’s a New England style bun. My husband grew up in Malden, MA, and absolutely LOVES lobster rolls and New England style hot dogs. You said yours just tasted like a hot dog, but there is something special about the dogs in New England — they’re natural casing hot dogs and have a nice snap when you bite into them.
I’m a California native (Southern) and will always be a California girl (flip flops, shorts & T-shirts), but hubby dragged me to Massachusetts for three years. I didn’t fare well there, but do miss a couple things about living back there. It’s definitely beautiful, but you pay for that beauty with 6-7 months of COLD winter, biting black flies in Spring (or was it early summer?), and NASTY heat & humidity! The only time I loved it there was Fall with all of the gorgeous trees changing color and the crisp cool air.
Sluggy says
If you ever get up to near Blue Hill Maine, check out Bayview Market and Take-Out
28 Bayview Rd, Penobscot, ME 04476…it’s on the Bagaduce River. Bagaduce Lunch is nearby too(a James Beard award winner as it’s been there since 1946)but their prices are higher.
I blogged about Bayview last year…..https://simpleslug.blogspot.com/2018/03/our-trip-to-maine-2016part-6.html
Other good seafood places….I have personally been to that are off the “touristy” path…..
Brunswick, ME area check out Gurnet Trading Co. it’s on Rte 24 past Cook’s Corner on the way to Land’s End on Bailey Island. (Also stop by FAT-BOYS drive-in….it’s a dining institution!
New Harbor, ME check out Shaw’s Wharf(pricier and they use to have seals that hung out off the deck there in the harbor).
Young’s Lobster Pound in Belfast, ME-eat al fresco out on picnic tables overlooking Penobscot River.
Erica’s Seafood at the bottom of Basin Point in Harpswell, ME. https://www.ericasseafood.com/ They take cash only and try the blueberry ice cream.
In the Kittery, ME area, WARREN’S Lobster House. It’s another institution in Maine. I ate there in 1979. They had an amazing salad bar! I’d go there during the week and/or off hours as it’s very well known and mobbed. http://www.lobsterhouse.com/
There use to be a wharf with tables in Cundy’s Harbor back in the 1980’s. I think Holbrook’s Wharf is there now and that’s more upscale.
You can go down any of the “fingers” of land in ME and find a lobster/seafood shack pretty much.
The old-school Maine way to eat lobster is sitting at a picnic table on a dock or wharf with a nutcracker, melted butter and a bag of potato chips and LOTS of napkins! Nothing bettah.
Also up near Bangor ME is a truck stop that’s a ‘must eat’ place….DYSART’S. If you go on the weekend get there early for Breakfast b/c the line is out the door. We were there 8 years ago….homemade roast beef hash and pancakes bigger than the plates. lol Of course, they’ve been “discovered” and have two locations now and I am sure the line is even longer.
Brenda says
http://www.kellysroastbeef.com/locations/revere-beach/ Best seafood and Roast beef sandwiches in MA. Eat at a pavilion on the beach, just watch out for the gulls that will swoop down and steal your food.
Mavis Butterfield says
Roast beef sandwiches…. now that is something different. I bet my husband would like that place a lot. Thanks Brenda.
S says
When we moved to MA 13 years ago, we asked our realtor about all the roast beef places. She said, “huh, I hadn’t even noticed.” Now, I don’t even notice anymore, but there are a TON on the North Shore in MA. I later read an article in the Globe that tied it to primarily Greek families who started all the places. There are a ton, and they’re all “Famous.” My favorite is Supremes in Danvers, MA.
Yankeegal says
I too love Kelly’s on Revere beach, although have not been there for a long time. Unfortunately the same can not be said for their sister place in Saugus Mass. We took the MIL there recently and the food was a huge disappointment. Stick to the place on the beach!
Mary Neathway says
I grew up on the east coast of Canada and have been marooned here in the interior of BC without good seafood for much too long! That photo of the fried clams made my mouth water…. I LUSTED for them….. how I envy you your adventure!
Barbara Chace says
Mavis…have you been to the Cabbage Island Clam Bake? You get the boat in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. You get a tour of the harbor on the way to the island and then on the island a full clam bake that includes 2 lobsters. There is time to see the sights on the island then you board the boat for the trip back to Boothbay Harbor. It’s a great time. You can go for the afternoon clam bake or the evening clam bake.
Valérie says
Not only lobster was a poor people food, but farmers used to fertilize their fields with lobsters!
Try the Lobster Claw in Saco Maine.
Libby says
I love reading about your date adventures!
Just a head’s up that public schools in New England are getting out last week and this week and summer traffic is going to start to get bad especially over the weekends. You might want to save some places like Newport or Cape Cod for the fall, when they are still gorgeous but quieter.
I think you would really like Mystic, CT with the Seaport (a living museum like Sturbridge) and awesome food places including Abbot’s in the Rough and Costello’s for lobster and clams.
My favorite lobster shack in CT is in Branford on the water. It is located in a marina parking lot with covered picnic tables on the water and is super CLEAN. But the lobster shacks in Maine are prettier and calmer.
Tamara says
Not a food rev, but I think you’d love Boothbay Train museum. https://railwayvillage.org/ There’s a lobster shack on the highway close to Boothbay that we stopped at and I loved it, but I love basically any lobster roll…
Alison R says
The buns are called “split top buns” and are most commonly found in the Northeast. They are hard as heck to find in the Southern states!
Karina says
Ooh come to wilmington, Vermont! We’ve got the absolute best creemee. It’s custard based soft serve ice cream. The maple is famous. Right next door is a seafood, etc lunch spot. Both are just eat outside places. This is really for you because the ice cream can’t be beat but your hubby can get a seafood fix. You can check out our community garden on your way up route 100! My mom & sister say I really did find a Stars Hollow to move to. I’m so glad you are liking New England.