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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West Village @ Fish

I've been going to Fish for years now.  What I love about Fish is that for a restaurant with a respectable raw bar offering there is zero pretense.  It's a small hole in the wall on Bleecker next to John's Pizza that would be easy to miss if you didn't notice the colorful window next to the bar.  Fish is super casual and it tends to fill up quickly by 7pm on a weekday so I'd recommend getting their early since there is pretty limited seating.

The waitstaff is very nice but not very knowledgeable about the goods.  But they make up for it with a great casual eating atmosphere.  Fish is the kind of place where you can go in for a drink and a few clams at the bar and end up staying waaaaaay longer than you intended. 

What drew me last week to Fish was an aching for crabs - I'd been to Maryland last weekend and didn't get the chance to have any so I needed a fix, badly.  Fish has an all-you-can-eat Maryland Blue Crabs special everyday from 12p-4p for only $22.  I'd never had crabs at Fish - I've had pretty much every shellfish related thing BUT that - so I was intrigued.  Being that both my BF and I are unemployed right now (thanks economy!) it also seemed like a great way to kill some time on a weekday.  

Our waitress covered our table in newspaper, handed us bibs, crackers (I was a little disappointed that we weren't getting mallets), and a bucket.  The crabs came out on trays and were dumped on our newspaper-covered table.  However, it was about 50 minutes from ordering to the crabs arriving on our table which seemed insanely long since the restaurant was less than half full.  

The crabs were prepared by steaming them in beer and completely covering them in Old Bay seasoning - delicious.  Right now the blue crabs are early in the season so they're pretty small - making it a real challenge to get meat from the crab.  I'd recommend waiting until mid-May before partaking in this deal if you want to get a little more meat for your cracking efforts.

Not to be forgotten are some of their other great specials.  One of my favorites is the cleverly named "Red, White & Blue" which includes your choice of either 6 Blue Point oysters or 6 Littleneck clams plus your choice of a glass of red or white wine or a pint of Pabst Blue Ribbon -  all for only $8.

They also have $1 oyster nights and a Lobster Feast (1 1/4 lb lobster, steamers, corn and yummy fries) that I highly recommend for only $18.


Fish
280 Bleecker Street 
between 7th Avenue South & Morton St.
(212) 727-2879

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