Lobster Dinners in Maine

If you love lobster, get thee to Maine. They can be found in every seafood restaurant and even in McDonald's. The best news is that the cost for lobsters in Maine is quite reasonable. I also learned they are fresher in Maine, meaning more tender and better tasting. How can that be when we see them alive in tanks at our restaurants and markets? Check out their antennae. In Maine, they're long. In our tanks, they may be short. Because after a while in captivity, the little devils begin to nip at their buddies' antennae.

When I recently dined at the Weathervane Restaurant in Belfast, Maine, almost everyone in my party ordered lobster. The wait staff was more than pleased to show the whole lobster newbies the proper way to get to the sweet meat beneath the crimson shells. One smart woman ordered her lobster already de-shelled.

As the sun set, we sat on Weathervane's outside deck on the water, and devoured the tasty crustaceans, watching a typical Maine scene with sailboats floating by and other vessels already docked nearby.

The next afternoon, we lunched at Angler's Seafood Restaurant, a family eatery in Searsport popular with locals. While others in my group ate creamy clam chowder, lobster roll, lobster salad and other sea delectables, I chose the Fried Haddock Dinner, and immediately became a fan of the fish. Two large fillets came covered with a crisp golden batter crust, perfect French fries and cole slaw.

While we ate, the owner, Buddy Hall, brought out two live lobsters in order to school us in Lobster Biology 101. He pointed out the difference between a male and a female, along with other info. Then he had the female (I guess the smarter of the two) perform. She did lobster tricks, like standing on her "head."

The restaurant also runs a motel, called "The Bait's Motel." I bought a T-shirt with their logo to suggest I had survived a night at the Bait's Motel (to fool all the poor spellers).