The quintessential New England summer sandwich has dropped anchor in the Midwest.
Tie on your bibs: Lobster rolls are sold in landlocked central Ohio.
Diners seeking to dig their claws into a grilled, buttery split-top bun stuffed with chunks of seafood — and, in some varieties, extras such as chopped chives and celery — have several options for sating the seasonal crustacean craving.
The Rossi, a Short North restaurant that a decade ago featured lobster rolls on one of its earliest menus, revived the treat in June and plans to serve it permanently.
“It is the most popular item we sell. It’s 2-to-1 above everything else,” general manager Josh Blankenship said. “People were clamoring for it.”
With most variations containing at least meat, mayonnaise and Old Bay seasoning, the salty sandwich seems forever tied to a distinct time and place — suggestive of sandy shoes, sunburned noses and checkered tablecloths.
Never mind that Columbus is situated 1,000 miles from Maine — where, beyond the time-tested rolls from idyllic roadside stands, folks might try, yes, the “McLobster” roll, which McDonald’s restored last month in select East Coast markets after a 10-year hiatus.
Lobster rolls have surfaced at the Walrus, a Downtown newcomer; the Sycamore in German Village; and the gastropub Kraft House No. 5 in Powell.
The sandwich, despite its simplicity and greater availability, isn’t cheap.
Already considered a luxury by most diners, lobster meat — which, because of an abundant harvest in 2013, reached low prices not seen in decades — has cost much more since a colder-than-average winter kept the sea creatures away from shores and delayed the summer molting that marks their growth.
At play, too, is a skyrocketing demand from China for imported lobster.
The higher prices, though, haven’t deterred people from paying $18 per lobster roll at the Sycamore, which has served the dish continually since introducing it last summer.
“We’re flying through them,” said chef and co-owner Bradley Balch, whose kitchen on a recent weeknight fielded more than a dozen orders.
Lobster lovers, meanwhile, have queued up on Saturday afternoons this month at the two Hills Market locations — Downtown and in the Worthington area — where a $15 lunch special of a lobster roll, potato chips, a slice of pie and lemonade will continue on Saturdays through August.
Last weekend, Carl Acampado stopped at the Downtown store to pick up the special.
“It’s hard to find lobster rolls in general in Columbus,” said Acampado, 41, of the Clintonville neighborhood.
“People can have chicken or beef or pork every day, but you rarely have lobster.”
Equal enthusiasm is found at the 101 Beer Kitchen outlets in Dublin and Gahanna, which this summer added a $17.95 lobster roll, paired with potatoes and roasted Mexican-style “street” corn topped with queso fresco cheese.
“If you’re doing something regionally specific, people are passionate about it,” Mike Frame, executive chef for both locations, said.
First served in the late 1920s at a Milford, Connecticut, restaurant, the rolls shift based on the chef and locale, according to Sally Lerman, author of the 2014 book “Lobster Rolls of New England: Seeking Sweet Summer Delight.”
Some, such as the $24 offerings at the Rossi, are served warm with a drizzle of butter; others, served cold, contain a heavier mayonnaise base that mimics chicken salad. Either way, a toasty grilled bun seems a must.
For foodies along the North Atlantic coast, Lerman noted, bickering over the best versions and vendors has become as much a warm-weather tradition as the shellfish sandwiches themselves.
“Everyone is very, very religious about them,” she said.
Which doesn’t surprise Bill Cosgrove, owner of the Worthington seafood restaurant Rivage Atlantique.
The native of Massachusetts has peddled $18.95 lobster rolls since opening the eatery in 2011.
He also began selling them this year for $10 on Saturdays at the Worthington Farmers Market and recently has tripled the size of a batch.
The cost of a full roll might be seen as prohibitive, said Cosgrove, who jokingly affirmed the $8 McLobster as not terrible.
And the prospect of cracking a conventional steamed lobster, he said, might deter some from trying the meat.
So he was inspired to sell a $5 miniature lobster roll during happy hour at the Rivage Atlantique bar.
No matter the portion size, Cosgrove said, the feedback rings familiar.
“People have them and say, ‘I’ve been to Maine, and this one is just as good.’”
Dispatch Reporter Julia Oller contributed to this story.
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