In the Fierce Lobster Roll Rivalry, There Are Only Winners
The New York Times
Whether you are a buttered Connecticut-style fan or a partisan of the Maine rolls with mayo, summer is your season.
On the outdoor dining tables at Jordan’s Lobster Farm in Island Park, N.Y., lobster rolls, served warm or cold, seem to be on every table at the casual seafood restaurant. The cold version, with just enough mayonnaise to bind the meat and some chopped celery together, is a best seller. But about four years ago, a warm version that comes with a side of drawn butter was added to the menu.
“People kept requesting a warm one so we added it,” said Brian Glennon, 45, the chef at Jordan’s since 2019. “We started with 15 to 20 a day and now we’re selling more than 70 each day.”
And although the warm version of the lobster roll is gaining in popularity, “the cold is by far the most popular,” Mr. Glennon said.
A beloved summer staple, the lobster roll is now a common menu item across the country. But in New England, allegiances historically belong to either the cold, Maine-style roll with mayonnaise or the warm, buttered Connecticut-style, in a rivalry as fiercely contested as the one between Chicago- and New York-style pizza. Until relatively recently, it would be unheard-of to find both versions offered under the same roof — or on the same dock — but more restaurants are splitting the difference and selling both options.
