Luke's Lobster in the East Village

When I was at York University in theater school in Toronto I remember going to see a play called Cowboy Mouth by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith. I have no real recollection about the play except that Scott Thompson was in it (he later went on to Kids in The Hall fame), that the play was a lot of fun, very weird, and that there was a character called the Lobster Man. In this particular production it was a man made to wear a life size lobster costume.

Luke is the 25 year old newly crowned Lobster Man of the East Village. He was not wearing a lobster costume when my friend Ian and I stopped by for lobster rolls the other day, instead he'd gone for a more understated look of jeans and a blue shirt.

He was sitting in an Adirondack chair out front of his charming shop, aptly named Luke's, working furiously on his laptop. Luke's is his homage to the homard* of Maine. Well not just homard*, he serves shrimp and crab as well, but the lobster was the draw for us.

(sorry I grew up in Canada - homard is French for Lobster and for some reason it's one of the four words in French that I remember and I couldn't resist the line homage to the homard, but apparently I should! Sorry for the confusion.)

At 16 bucks the lobster roll with Vickie's chips and a Maine Root drink is a bargain. The rolls are about the size of a hot dog bun, only on a far superior bread than any hot dog bun you've ever had, and they're nicely toasted and filled with fresh, rich, simply done lobster from Luke's dad's fisheries in Maine.

The thing that really separates this lobster roll from any other I've ever had is that the lobster is not drowned in mayonnaise, as a matter of fact it's not drowned in anything. I detected a little bit of celery salt and a touch of butter allowing the wonderful, fresh lobster flavor to shine through.

If an ethereal and reasonably priced lobster roll wasn't enough, Luke is also big on sustainability. Here's what he says: "If your first bite brings to mind an old lobster boat steaming through the morning fog off of Vinalhaven Island, it’s because that’s exactly what happened just hours before."

You gotta love that.

I was thinking after inhaling my roll that I would like something sweet. As of yet Luke's doesn't offer any desserts, though I thought that the perfect little sweet might be a nice, organic, wild, Maine, blueberry crumble bar. Maybe with the option of some fresh whipped cream?

It just so happens that my friends at Intervale Farms in Cherryfield, Maine grow the tastiest, organic blueberries in the world! So Luke if your looking for some blueberries...

So whether you're hankering for some Maine seafood, a crazy good lobster roll, or maybe just missing Maine, Luke's is the place for you!

93 E. 7th Street, New York, NY

212.387.8487

Hours:
Sunday - 11 am - Midnight
Monday - 11 am - Midnight
Tuesday - 11 am - Midnight
Wednesday - 11 am - Midnight
Thursday - 11 am - 1 am
Friday - 11 am - 2 am
Saturday - 11 am - 2 am