Heather Strout Thompson has been hauling lobster since traps were wooden. Here are her top lobster rolls in her home state of Maine, from Chipman's Wharf to Luke's Lobster. Hundreds of years ago, lobsters washed up in droves along what's now Maine's rocky coast, so plentiful and cheap it was fed to prisoners.
Today, tourists from all over come to the US's north-easternmost state for the meatiest, sweetest lobster in the world, thanks to its freezing cold waters. And the best lobsters naturally make the best lobster rolls. The lobster roll is a classic and beloved New England sandwich, featuring fat hunks of delicious lobster meat stuffed into a grilled, split-top hot dog bun.
To find Maine's top specimens, we spoke to Heather Strout Thompson , a fourth-generation lobsterman ( a gender-neutral term in Maine ) from the town of Harrington, who's among a growing number (now 15% , up from 8% 10 years ago) of females in this male-dominated industry. "Fishing is in our blood," says Thompson. "It's the only thing I've ever done, so I'm going to do everything I can to protect it – for my grandchildren and theirs.
'" Thompson says the most tender, succulent lobster comes from the freshest daily catch. So whether you take your lobster roll drenched in melted butter (New England style) or tossed cold in a touch of mayonnaise (the Maine way), you can count on one thing: Thompson's list of family-owned shacks and restaurants along the Maine coast serve their lobster rolls trap to table, n.