I grew up in Connecticut, the home of expensive real estate, insurance companies’ headquarters, New Haven-style pizza and the WWE.  One thing that is not native or common to Connecticut is the lobster roll.  Unlike most of the rest of New England, lobster rolls have never caught on in the Nutmeg State as an essential food item.  Maybe it’s because lobsters don’t naturally swim in the Long Island Sound.  Maybe the Connecticut waters are too temperate for their blood.  Maybe Connecticut restaurants are too cheap to import lobsters from Massachusetts and Maine.  Who knows.

All I know is that ever since trying a lobster roll for the first time in Boston earlier this year, I’m hooked.  In their most basic and generic form, lobster rolls are chunks of lobster meat (from the claw, knuckle, tail, etc.) placed in a buttered, top-split hot dog-style bun with some mayonnaise or butter  and perhaps some celery thrown in.  There are variations, including the style of bun, the use of mayo or butter and the spices and vegetables used.

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