Pearl Oyster Bar

I remember a day in my childhood when I got over my fear of eating a spiny, clawed, ugly, creature with oozing green innards and learned to embrace the lobster. It happened when I was a child on vacation in Maine, and I have enjoyed the taste of lobster ever since.
After a brief end of summer stint in Maine, and a day of steamed lobster, fried clams, lobster rolls, and blueberry pie, I decided that it was time to visit the restaurant in New York that is heralded as the closest thing to authentic Main cuisine: Pearl Oyster Bar.

Until this past Wednesday, I had been reading about Pearl on a pretty consistent basis and had really wanted to pay a visit. The trip to Maine allowed me to remember how much I liked lobster rolls (Pearl’s most famous dish) and pretty much forced me to go to Pearl’s as soon as I had the chance.

Finally, this past Wednesday I had the chance to try the famous Pearl lobster roll and it was good. It was actually really good, but I couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing. I appreciate Pearl’s efforts to re-create the Main lobster shack with its wood interior, cramped seating and the little wafts of salt water air that seem to surround the place but something is terribly missing from the lobster roll experience. For several hours after dinner I thought about the tasty lobster roll and couldn’t figure out what was unpleasing about this mayonaiss-y lobster-y sandwich on its perfectly grilled sweet hot dog roll. After much pondering, I finally realized that it was the price (I was treated to dinner otherwise I might have realized this immediately.) It’s not that the lobster roll isn’t good, but at $25 dollars a piece, I believe that the concept of the lobster roll is completely misinterpreted.

As I understand it from my childhood, the lobster roll is the leftover claws and other parts of a lobster served with mayonnaise and celery and a little bit of seasoning on a hot dog bun. Because we are receiving the less desirable cuts of lobster, the lobster roll is generally a relative bargain. It’s a cheap taste of Maine that you can eat on the beach with a beer or lemonade, as you smell the sea and play with the sand between your toes. The lobster roll is the food item you purchase in Maine in lieu of regular lobster. You do so because it tastes like lobster but is much cheaper. This is where Pearl Oyster bar fails. I applaud the taste of their interpretation of the lobster roll, but I was let down by what I had heard was close to an authentic lobster shack. I like to eat my lobster rolls within sniffing distance of the water for less than what I would spend on a full steamed lobster; its not that I’m cheap, it’s just the concept. And no lobster roll no matter how lobster filled and tasty it is can even compare to a bad lobster roll on the beach in Maine.