Notes on Food

Welcome to Red Hook

Brooklyn doesn’t really evoke images of Maine lobster, but the Red Hook Lobster Pound is a little jewel that delivers it in spades. The pound is a little hard to find (we took the subway to Smith and 9th and then the 61 bus) and you’re probably better off sampling their food at the Brooklyn Flea Market on Saturdays, but Laura and I were already headed to Van Brunt Street for some goodies at Baked and decided it wouldn’t hurt to just walk down the street for a very late lunch.

Psychedelic lobster

There wasn’t an official restaurant or anything at the Lobster Pound so we ordered our food at the counter and then migrated to the indoor seating area next door. Laura ordered the Maine roll, a classic with mayonnaise, celery and some spices, and I ordered the Connecticut roll, which came with butter instead of mayo. We also shared a mandarin orange soda and a gigantic homemade chocolate whoopie pie, another original Maine  treat. Since we had the entire seating area to ourselves and we’d spent most of the morning running after subways and buses, to finally sit down somewhere nice and quiet and dig into a hunk of succulent lobster was such a great moment of relaxed bliss.

The Maine and the Connecticut

Connecticut close up

The lobster meat was lightly dressed, tender and unbelievably sweet, and I liked that they toasted the soft JJ Nissen buns to add a little bit of crunch. The rolls also came with chips and a pickle, but honestly, I was more than happy just eating the lobster and drinking the fizzy orange soda, which was surprisingly not as saccharine as I thought it’d be. Considering the fact that I’ve seen smaller lobster rolls in the city for almost $30, the $15 price tag made these sandwiches one of the best food deals I’ve seen and although I don’t know that I’d necessarily trek all the way to Red Hook again for a bite, I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for these babies when I go to Brooklyn Flea or the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

Nomnomnom

Red Hook Lobster Pound
284 Van Brunt Street
Brooklyn, NY
646.326.7650
http://redhooklobsterpound.com/