East Village @ Luke's Lobster

So, on the heels of my previous post about the issues in the Gulf I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend that you get your shellfish roll fix at Luke's Lobster in the East Village.  Luke's gets it's supplies directly from Luke's father in Maine which means that the already unbelievably cheap price of the rolls will be insulated from any inflation.  When I say cheap I really mean it - you get 4 ounces of luscious lobster in a roll for only $14.  No, that's not a typo.

Now, with that said, you should just be going to Lukes already. No matter about the Gulf.  I'm a big believer in supporting small business - especially since 1/2 of all restaurants in NYC close within their first year of opening - and this place could only be smaller if it was running out of a food truck.  Part of it's charm is the size, creating a casual atmosphere with some stools and a few narrow bars where you can nosh on your food before you head out to your next stop.  It's quite euro in that respect, actually.

Being overly excited about the affordability of the offering, my boyfriend and I went a little overboard on the order.  Since all the rolls come in either 2 ounce or 4 ounce sizes, it was just too tempting not to get more than one.  We both had to get the 4 oz lobster roll and then he also ordered a 4 ounce crab roll while I got the somewhat smaller 2 ounce shrimp roll.  For only $2 more, you can make any 4 ounce roll a "Schooner" which means you get a soda, chips and a pickle.  So of course we had to do that too (cause who wants to be thirsty?).  To top it off, we shared a clam chowder.  Like I said, we went a bit overboard.

The rolls were delicious, bursting with meat and not filler.  The rolls were served with the bread warm and the meat drenched in melted butter - nom nom nom nom....We both gave it a thumbs up.  The only thing that could've improved the offering is to serve the meat warm as well.  While I do enjoy a wee bit of mayo in my roll, I was glad to give it up for the much more substantial serving of meat.

The clam chowder was equally packed with meat and positively tasty.  Luke's abandons the traditionally thick cream broth (sometimes a mask for how few clams are actually in the soup) for something lightly creamy and not overly rich.  The soup - just like his rolls - is packed with meat, just take a look at one of the spoonfulls in the adjacent picture.  

93 E 7th Street
between 1st Ave & Ave A
New York, NY 10009
212-387-8487
www.lukeslobster.com





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