d.i.y.: lobster roll & homemade mayo

I know – it’s a DOUBLE “d.i.y.” today – woo hoo!!

So it’s NO secret that I love me some lobster roll – so much that it would absolutely play a starring role in any “final meal” of mine.

And my Instagram feed will totally back me up on this.

Over many, many years I’ve sampled many many lobster rolls – in New York City, Cape Cod and out in Montauk.

But there is only one that truly wins my heart – that, IMHO reigns as “best lobster roll ever”.

You know what I’m talking about – the Red Hook Lobster Pound.

I discovered this insanely amazing roll at the Brooklyn Flea – and no Flea trip is complete without one:

The lobster is in large, succulent pieces – not chopped or diced.

There is minimal mayo (no butter – NEVER butter!), just binding it all together.

The lobster sits on a bed of shredded iceberg for crunch, and is topped with a smattering of scallions for a little kick (and more crunch).

And it’s all nestled in a perfectly buttered and toasted split-top roll.

Obsessed much?

I thought about doing a lobster roll d.i.y. sometime over the summer, and then just this week Mike and I spent a few days out in Montauk. I was excited to re-visit one of the most famous lobster roll joints (and, legend has it, the place that invented the lobster roll!) – called (wait for it) “The Lobster Roll”.

I hadn’t been there since I had discovered the Red Hook version. And as luck would have it, Red Hook opened an outpost in (wait for it) Montauk!

Lobster Roll smack down!

And it was no contest. The “Lobster Roll” version was good – very good in fact – but it was more like lobster salad on a roll. Lots of celery, and the roll was not toasty/buttery, but more soft/squishy.

I all but raced home to finally set about making my own.

I had no intention of cooking the lobster myself (the very nice seafood manager from my local market did it for me). And frankly, I didn’t think that it would make a difference to the end result. That said, I do pride myself on setting the bar high – ESPECIALLY when it comes to my “d.i.y.” posts – so I decided instead to make my own mayo.

Wow.

I mean, I had NO idea how amazing – and how ridiculously easy – homemade mayo is. You guys, you HAVE to make it. There is just no comparison – it’s bright, fresh, rich and SO delicious, and came together in about 5 minutes. Yes, I used raw eggs – but I got them from my beloved Gaia’s Breath Farm at my local farmer’s market so I knew they’d be fresh.

You really do owe it to yourself to make your own mayo at least once – and what better occasion than the making of the perfect lobster roll?

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