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Just (Lobster) Roll With It: Variations On A Summer Tradition

Last year, Maine fishermen pulled $456 million worth of lobster out of the ocean, and a good deal of it ended up in a hot dog bun. Here in New England, the lobster roll is a summer tradition, but if you ask 100 chefs how to make one, you’ll get 100 different answers.

With the unofficial start of summer finally upon us, we sent Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd to the coast in search of the perfect lobster roll.

Reporter

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

The "brown butter lobster roll" at Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine, is served on a steam bun instead of a hot dog bun. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
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The "brown butter lobster roll" at Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine, is served on a steam bun instead of a hot dog bun. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
The lobster roll at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine, is overflowing with lobster meat. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
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The lobster roll at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine, is overflowing with lobster meat. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
The price of a lobster roll is posted at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
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The price of a lobster roll is posted at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
Most people waiting in line at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine, were there for a lobster roll. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
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Most people waiting in line at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine, were there for a lobster roll. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)

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