Friends, Romans, countrymen….. let’s eat

I’ve never been much of a seafood lover. I even referred to that fact a few blog entries ago. But when vacationing in the land of lobster, a visit to the annual Maine Lobster festival is almost obligatory… sort of a “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” thing. Or, maybe it’s because Margaret saw a report about the festival a year or so ago on the TV food channel and it instantly went on the “must see” list for our travels.

Call me crazy (most people don’t wait for an invitation to do that) but I’ve never gone all that ga ga over the crustation of interest at this event. Frankly, I just never have seen what all the fuss is about. To me, lobster has a rather blah taste. And that may be the reason the thing is usually eaten after being dipped in melted butter; at least the butter adds SOME flavor. That then begs a question: Why not just skip the lobster and drink a flagon of the butter? Anyway, I just wasn’t all that interested in attending this festival but the boss said “We’re going.” so go we did.

It takes place every August in Rockland, Maine, and draws people from far and wide. It has all the usual trappings of the fairs, festivals and self promotions that cities and organizations put on all around the country. Food, drinks, crafts, carnival rides, contests, music and the crowning of a Queen are all a staple of these types of events…whether they’re celebrating the founding of a city 350 years ago or extolling the virtues of some obscure fruit or vegetable. For instance, have you ever been to the Garlic festival in Gilroy, California? Can you believe that they even make ice cream from the stuff? But that’s the fodder for another blog.

I don’t know, maybe I was swayed by the beautiful seaside location, the good looking queen, the music wafting through the air from two stages or the thousands of other people who were having a good time but I actually enjoyed the lobster this time. Or maybe it loses some flavor during the trip to California but when it’s straight from the sea off the coast of Maine, it seemed to taste better.

I will say though that they still are a lot of work for not a whole lot of meat. I also can now speak from experience as to why they give you a bib to wear when eating the things. I neglected to put mine on and when I cracked open the first claw, I got a very messy introduction to the reason. Who knew the things had so much liquid in them?

So, tummy sated with some of Maine’s finest, we settled in for the evening in front of a music stage to tap our toes to the tunes. About halfway through the evening, thoughts of dessert starting crossing my mind. I began to wonder if perhaps anyone has followed the lead of the good folks of Gilroy and tried to make ice cream from lobsters. If so, I just hope it’s possible to eat it without that silly bib. Photo's in the gallery.