The Lobster House (Phippsburg, Maine)
The Lobster House
395 Small Point Rd.
Phippsburg, ME
Dress code: Extremely casual (but remember your shirt and shoes)
Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day
If you find yourself in Midcoast Maine this summer, Popham Beach — one of Maine’s best and most popular sand beaches — may be on the bucket list. If so, you’ll want to take a quick detour before or after your stay for incredibly fresh lobster and like-family service.
Cruise about 2 miles down Small Point Road, and soon a bend in the road will reveal a small, white cottage with red trim. Lobster pots and fishing gear are a dead giveaway — as are the cars in the parking lot in the middle of a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Inside, the bar area was buzzing with locals and staff. Avoid the kitsch for sale by the front door (if you’ve been to Maine once, you’ve seen it all before) and get right down to business.
At a comfortable booth in the quiet dining area, we quickly selected a late lunch of clam chowder and lobster rolls. A bit predicable, perhaps, but also a bit delicious. The roll — with chips, pickle, and watermelon slice sidling up alongside — was toasted nicely and stuffed to the brim with briny, rich lobster meat. A light hand with the mayo? Very much appreciated. All in all, it was simple and perfect —”nostalgia in the mouth,” I thought as I happily chewed.
(For chowder fans, the clam chowder was perfectly serviceable but not outstanding.)
We didn’t stick around for The Lobster House’s trademark desserts (pies were most tempting), but only because we needed an excuse to come back next time.
All told, our bill came to $35 for two — lobster rolls set us back $13 each, still a pretty reasonable market price despite the fall in lobster prices this year. They didn’t even charge us for the lovely view!
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By Alison L. McConnell
Alison L. McConnell is the HG’s editor and publisher. She also runs The Humble Gourmand’s catering and prepared food business, which serves as a conduit between Chesapeake Bay watershed farmers and butchers, artisan/small-batch producers up and down the East Coast, and hungry clients in the Washington area.
A native of New Jersey and upstate New York, Alison attended Bowdoin College in Maine and the London School of Economics before settling in Washington in 2004. She studied the culinary arts at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. She abides by a long-standing family motto: McConnells always finish their desserts.
About The Humble Gourmand
The Humble Gourmand is published the first Friday of each month, edited by Alison L. McConnell, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and writer. It is designed to offer straightforward lessons and advice to aspiring cooks, oenophiles, and all other eaters and drinkers.
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AKME
February 14 2:11 a.m. 1Sounds wonderful. If you are in the neighborhood, you should also try the Dolphin Restaurant at the bottom of Harpswell Neck.