Independence Day weekend is as good a time as any to consider the lobster roll. I am thinking here of the summertime favorite, not the Napeague stretch restaurant known also as Lunch. The classic lobster roll when I was growing up here in the 1970s was just lobster meat and mayonnaise, sometimes with chopped celery, on a hot dog bun. These days, variations abound. There are hot lobster rolls, fancy lobster rolls with house-made aioli, spicy ones, the list goes on and on. What does not vary much is the cost — a lot.
Restaurant people get really angry when we write about their prices in comparison to other joints, but no discussion of lobster rolls is worth its salt unless the question of cost is addressed. Knocking around online menus, I found rolls from Duryea’s ($45), the Lobster Roll/Lunch ($37), Carissa’s ($38), Gig Shack ($49), Springs Tavern ($36), and Loaves and Fishes ($35). Seeking a reality check up west, I called Flo’s Famous in Blue Point ($36); takeout would be ready in 10 minutes, the person who answered the phone said. My stomach growled.
The price of a lobster roll derives from the wholesale rate for the meat. Fresh-picked lobster tail, claw, and knuckle are around $80 a pound from Maine — the expense comes from the picking. Nothing yet has replaced human labor in prising the meat out of the steamed shells. With a minimum of four ounces of meat in a lobster roll, plus shipping, the markups on restaurant menus do not seem out of line.
A summer long ago, when I had my own lobster traps, it was different. It was easy enough running out to bait them on a Thursday then go back to get Saturday’s dinner. Since then, the Long Island lobster population has been in decline, and I don’t have the spirit to add to their problems at this point. I’ll happily splurge for a lobster roll at some point soon. The trick will be deciding where to go. What with traffic on Route 27, Flo’s Famous, sadly, is out of the question.