Yankee Lobster, Boston, MA

When in  in Boston, #lobsterrolls.  Right?  At least, that is how my mother feels.  Which took us to Yankee Lobster.

Yankee Lobster is a pretty classic new england lobster place, with a long history of a family of fishermen.  They still fish for the product that they sell.  They run a restaurant, retail, and wholesale operation (Commercial Lobster Co).

A nice selection!

My visit was with my mother, when she came to pick me in Boston, where I flew into the day before.  As my father doesn't eat any seafood, I knew she'd be eager to have someone to get seafood with, particularly somewhere with a lobster focus (her favorite).  And I was eager to have someone to split things with!

Everything we had was well prepared and high quality.  There were definitely some misses (really, no salt and pepper provided? No butter for corn?), but overall, it was good.

The standout though, no question: the chowder!  I think there are too many places to try in my limited time in Boston to really seek out going back, but I wouldn't be upset to return.  Or, I'd just swing by to get chowder to take home.  Seriously.  The chowder.

Setting

Yankee Lobster is located right on the waterfront, just down the street from the big Legal Harborside (review coming soon, I was there the day before), a nice alternative if you want a more independent, local place.

Curb Appeal?

It doesn't really look like much, with a few tables out on the cracked sidewalk, and additional outdoor (but covered) seating on the side.

LOBSTER!

Ok, I take that back, there is *some* character - when they are open, you know it, because, uh, there is a big lobster out front :)

Interior Area.

There is no inside seating, a take-out only joint.

I think maybe they normally have a couple small tables inside, but, in COVID times, they certainly did not.  Walls are lined with vintage photos and fishing/boating related paraphernalia.

Food

During regular times Yankee Lobster has a large menu, but during early July, due to limitations with dining and COVID, they were offering a streamlined, but still decently large, menu.  All orders were required to be placed in advance - on the phone, on their website, or through partner apps.  This definitely confused many people who kept trying to go in to order, but signage was quite clear.  For phone-in orders, you could pay at the time of pickup.

We called our order in while walking over, a nice 10 min stroll from my hotel where my mom was picking me up, and only waited a few minutes for pickup.  Only 2 guests were allowed inside at a time, and order names weren't really called out, so it didn't work great - people basically kept going in and out, in and out, to check on orders.  But, they were trying.

Take Out Menu.

What also didn't work great is the fact that the menu failed to list many items they actually had available.

I kept checking the menus, and seeing other things on Instagram that looked great - side dishes like excellent looking onion rings, sweet potato fries, slaw, corn on the cob - and mains like broiled scallops, yet none were on the menu.  The only side on the menu is fries, everything came with fries, no options.  The food was all fried, no broiled options (which are on the normal menu).  None of this was on the website, not on their online ordering system, not on partner apps, and not on the front door.  Finally, I just reached out to ask, and was told that those things were all available (a slew of sides!) and to just ask for them when I order, there will be a $0.50 charge.

I overheard a table next to me with some unsatisfied diners who were annoyed that everyone had to get fries, and only fries, and let them know (albeit to late), and they were glad to hear, but, again, it was too late to really help them.  Not sure why they aren't making this more accessible!

Market Menu.

In addition to the hot prepared food, you can also order from the seafood market, with both fresh (raw or cooked) and frozen items.

Traditional Lobster Roll / Sweet Potato Fries. $24.99 + $0.50 sweet potato fries upgrade.

My mom had eyes on only one thing: a lobster roll.  She loves lobster, doesn't have great access to it in NH, and, well, we *were* at a lobster place after all.

She had no interest in anything else on the menu, didn't care about sides, etc.  She just wanted her lobster roll.  Traditional style, that is, chilled with mayo.  You can also get your lobster roll hot (with butter) or with fried lobster (! I won't knock it without trying, but that seems like a shame!), for $1 more.

I selected sweet potato fries for the side.

Since we *were* splitting, even though she didn't care what else we were getting, I did get half a lobster roll, and plenty of fries (look at the portion!!!).

I'll admit - I shouldn't have made her share.  Or, really, I should have taken 1/3, not 1/2, to really let her enjoy, as ... lobster rolls aren't something I'm super excited about.  I mean, they are *fine*, but, lobster to me is always just "fine", and most of the time, I greatly prefer crab, scallops, white fish, etc.  But still, Boston, lobster, lobster place ... I wanted to try it.

The lobster roll was ... fine?  Heh.  I know, I'm not interesting here.  I will applaud the fact that it was stuffed generously, and had a wonderful assortment of chunks of lobster.  All body parts, and very large chunks.  Well extracted.  No filler whatsoever, just lightly dressed in mayo.  Very lightly dressed.  The brioche bun was lightly toasted, I think with a bit of butter?  Definitely not much.  It was soft enough, uh, fine.

This was a lobster roll about, well, the lobster.  I found it ... uh, boring and under-seasoned, but, that is me.  The lobster meat was cooked well.  The lemon was nice to drizzle on top.  But, as I said, I'm not a lobster roll fan, and when I am, I am a hot with butter girl, not cold with mayo (I know, shocking, as I love mayo things in general).

My mom said it was fine, but commented that Belle Isle Seafood, where I took her last time she picked me up, was better.

The sweet potato fries were above average though - I thought they had a good sweet potato flavor, and were the kinda battered style I prefer.  They weren't particularly hot or fresh, but were decently crispy.

Overall, a solid "fine", but I don't think either of us would get these items again.

Broiled Scallops Platter: Tartar Sauce / Lemon / Corn / Slaw. $20.99 + corn upgrade ($0.50) + additional side (slaw). Tartar sauce.

For my top pick, it was clearly the scallops.  I adore scallops, I hadn't any in ages, and I knew people liked them here.

The limited menu only listed fried scallops, but I had seen recent Instagram photos of the broiled scallops, and read many good reviews of the broiled scallops, so I asked if they were available, and, just like the sides, was told it was no problem.  I was again sad others didn't have access to this info!

Anyway, the platter, like the lobster roll, came with fries, but I could again sub the fries for anything.  I knew the options, and knew that "corn", while boring sounding, meant corn on the cob, and, well, I had been on a corn on the cob kick.  So I subbed that in for a fee.

Normally "platter" implies more than one side (at least to me), so I thought that while the lobster roll didn't come with slaw (boo, most places do fries and slaw!), I expected 2 sides with this.  But alas, nope.  I still added on slaw as well.

The platter did include two slices of lemon, and a container of tartar sauce.  It was a generous platter, I counted 12.5 large sea scallops.  Yes, 12.5.  I'm going to hope that the .5 is because they sliced one to test done-ness?  Uh ...

The scallops were good.  Well cooked.  Not rubbery.  Sure, not seared scallops, mid-rare, which is my favorite way to prepare scallops, but I wasn't expecting that.  They did still have the foot on, which, of course, got stuck in one tooth of mine immediately.  Doh.  Just simple broiled scallops, but fresh enough, and nice.  I appreciated the lemon to drizzle over, but did want something more.  The tartar sauce is definitely not what I wanted with the delicate scallops, and even just some basic seasoning would be nice.  I did have some sauces to try out (more on these soon), but none were really a match.

The corn came just as steamed or boiled corn on the cob, as is.  No butter, no salt and pepper was provided, and it had none on it, which was quite unfortunate.  I almost went back in to ask for some, but, my food was getting cold, and the line to get in was long (since only 2 in at a time), so, alas, I did without.  Luckily I had at least salt and pepper in my bag.  While *really* good corn on the cob I will eat just as is, it needs to be super fresh, and amazing.  

This was actually good corn, better than expected since it wasn't corn season yet (early July, corn usually hits in August), but it really did want/need some butter, salt, and pepper.  Still, it was well cooked at least, not tough or anything.  I did wish it was a full ear though.  I devoured it on the spot, since it was quickly cooling.

Slaw was classic cabbage and little bit of carrot, in creamy mayo base.  I liked it, but it too wanted pepper, and I again lamented the lack of provided pepper, but used the little ration I had.  I wanted more.  The slaw was a good portion, bigger than when usually just included in a platter, so, I guess I was glad to order it as a real side, although I saved most to have with dinner later.

Overall, this was a good plate of food.  Butter/salt/pepper wishes aside, I was happy enough with the portion I had at the time (along with my lobster roll and sweet potato fries), and very, very pleased with what I took home.  I saved some scallops for the next day, which I lightly warmed with the amazing lemon butter sauce from Legal Seafood, boiled my own ear of fresh corn (and coated that in lemon butter, salt, and pepper too), made some sauteed spinach and onions with roasted wood ear mushrooms (yup, drizzled all that with the butter), warmed up a leftover roll from Legal Seafood (love these rolls, and yup, dunked in the butter sauce too!), and paired with a nice chardonnay, and let's just say, I was a happy girl.

Basically, the meal that kept on giving, and I'd do it this way again if going to my parent's house after.  The price was entirely reasonable for portion and quality.

#allTheSauces.

I asked what sauces were available, to dip things in, and the person taking my order started listing off the seafood classics (cocktail, tarter, remoulade), and then moved on to ones that sounded great for the sweet potato fries (honey mustard, ranch, bbq, sweet and sour), so I cut her off and just say, "uh, can I have all the sauces?"  She laughed, said I must be a sauce girl like her, and said no problem.

I knew I would want things like honey mustard or bbq (or even ranch, or even sweet and sour?) for my sweet potato fries, and for the scallops, I couldn't quite figure out what would be best, so this didn't seem *that* ridiculous to me.

I was rather amused when I opened my bag of sauces though, as most were generic, packaged brands (e.g. Ken's Ranch Dressing, Bull's Eye BBQ sauce, etc), but the three seafood specific ones may have been house made.  Still, I was overjoyed at the selection.  Interestingly, she did *not* include ketchup (nor the aforementioned butter and salt/pepper).

Cocktail sauce: 
I really, really liked this cocktail sauce.  Perfect level of horseradish.  Really, quality cocktail sauce (I wonder if they make it? Given the others I'm not sure ...).  Not really the right thing for what we ordered, but I took it home and used with grilled shrimp the next day to great joy.

Tartar sauce:
Fairly classic tartar sauce.  It was fine, but a bit too strong the harsher relish front, yet also tasted just like mayo.  Some balance was missing.  Mediocre at best.  Not something I'd get again unless I was getting fish and chips.

Remoulade:
The remoulade was very very ... "special sauce" tasting.  It did not have the seafood focused taste to it that I was looking for.  That said, it was good special sauce, it just wanted to be paired with a burger and cheese, not any seafood I could think of (even crab cakes, etc).

I had plenty of sauces, but really, all I wanted was butter!!!

Take-Home Clam Chowder, Large. $8.99.

To take home, I ordered the largest clam chowder, cold.  I wasn't going to have it with our meal, and just wanted to try the amazing clam chowder later.  I knew they would have it in the retail section, and that they'd just be heating it up if I ordered for dine-in, so this didn't seem like an odd way to order it.  And even though I'd never had it before, I ordered the large.  I really like good chowder, and I knew my mom likes clams, so I thought she'd want some too (she told me she didn't, she only likes fried clams, not chowder, but I still made her try it).

Of course I did try a bite cold, and liked it immediately.  Honestly, I like cold clam chowder (or any chowder), anyway, so, this isn't a surprise.  

But yes, as everyone says, this is excellent chowder.  My mom actually tried it warmed up before me, and she *raved* about it.  Yup, that person who didn't really want it, sent me an e-mail just to tell me how much she liked it (subject line: "CHOWDAH!", included phrase "licked the bowl clean").

I licked my bowl clean too.  And the container.  And the lid.  It was very rich, very creamy.  Plenty of cubes of potato.  Plenty of clams, not chewy, really well cooked.  Everything in balance.  My mom really liked the crunchy celery bits.  It did need pepper, and I was glad to be home with access to fresh cracked pepper, but, it needed nothing else.  Just, perfect chowder as is.

You can add lobster in as well for $10.  They also normally make a lobster chowder and a seafood stew, although neither were available during the limited menu.

I'd definitely get this again, and encourage bringing some home!

Retail: Cooked Lobster Meat. AQ.

Also to take home, I ordered a small portion of lobster meat, to play with either later that night for dinner, or for lunch.  I did order it before having the lobster roll, but, I assumed their lobster would be well prepared, but still asked for just a tiny portion (.25 lb).

My portion came bagged up.

Retail Lobster Meat.

I was really impressed when I opened the bag to find a whole lobster tail!  And a perfect assortment of very in-tact other pieces.

The lobster was again nicely cooked, not rubbery, and not mangled in any way.  As you'd expect for a quality lobster establishment.

It was obviously just cooked lobster, not particularly exciting on its own, but I warmed it, and added that aforementioned lemon butter sauce, and really enjoyed.  I'd do this again, but only if I was really craving lobster, not my norm.

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