The Lobster Shack - East Haven - Lobster Roll Tour Stop #6

It took me a few summers to finish my lobster roll tour.  For starters, tasting lobster rolls is an expensive hobby.  Lobster rolls generally cost anywhere from $18 to $20 (usually without sides) and while insanely delicious, aren't always filling.  Geographic location also made it a little more time consuming as we sample lobster rolls as far east and Noank and as far west as East Haven.  If there was ever a time to eat lobster rolls - now is it.  The crowds are gone after Labor Day, COVID-19 has forced us to dine al fresco, and it just felt like the perfect time to spend a Friday night chowing down lobster rolls along the water (and head to IKEA when it is least busy).  

Livs Shack - CT Lobster Shack Tour

Well, it's my first post of 2020 and I have been a little MIA in the way of social media.  

Why?  It's painfully simple - I've been living my life.  Like spending time with family, friends, Adam, our dogs, and my horse.  I've been working on the house and planning some big events for 2020.  It's been less on the adventure/travel parts of life, and more of enjoying the moments, getting things done around the house, and not worrying about blogging or life between the squares.  

That gap between the holidays is closing and I am back to planning adventures.  I am heading to Utah and Wyoming next week to ski and in the meantime, I'm working on old posts that never quite made it into 2019.  

This lobster shack review? It's a summer treat that is making it's way to Katie Wanders in the dead of winter.  No, the lobster shack isn't open right now but yes, I am beyond excited to talk about shellfish and buttery rolls even if January is bitter cold and the idea of eating outside is a distant memory. 

Captain Scotts Lobster Dock

Katie may be wandering in Iceland in all the winter clothing she owns (and wow is it amazing) but it is still summer in Connecticut. Today, to celebrate the 85 degree indian summer in September, we are continuing on the Connecticut Lobster Roll Tour (this one's for you Amanda!). 

Ford's Lobsters - Noank, Connecticut

Ford's Lobsters - Noank, Connecticut 

My lobster research brought me back to the little village of Noank once more.  My third trip on the Katie Wanders Lobster Shack Tour was to Ford's Lobsters in Noank, Connecticut, home to the now famous Lobster Bomb.  This was definitely more a sit down Restaurant than order at the window Shack, but still a small scale operation in a beautiful setting.  

To backtrack for a moment, this series has taken me to Lobster Landing in Clinton, and Abbotts Lobster in the Rough in Noank.  This was the third stop in the Connecticut Lobster Shack Tour, and my second stop in the tiny village of Noank. 

When we stopped at Abbotts last week, we got all wrapped up in Lobster Rolls that I didn't give enough background of this area of the state.  Noank is not a town, but instead, a village of the town of Groton at the mouth of the Mystic River. The area known as "Noank" is basically about 2 square miles, 1.5 miles being land and about .5 miles being water.  Yep folks, we just broke down the entire two miles of this town into land and sea.  It is Old New England, what were you expecting?

Map of Groton, Connecticut 

Connecticut Lobster Shack Tour: Ratings and Rules

I have been beside myself with excitement to start off this epic journey.  No, no, things are a little different now.  There will be less alpine lakes and summit photos, but there will still be journies of equally epic proportions.  So what am I so darn excited about?  The Connecticut Lobster Shack Tour.  Let me give you some background so we can really understand the importance of this...

I used to work with the State of Connecticut Department of Marine Fisheries Division with the American Lobster project.  Lobstering in New England is so important to the area's history and lets face it, charm, fame, and in some states, its economy. Maine’s lobster fishery is the largest lobster fishery in the country and is more than 80 percent of all of the commercial fishing revenue in the state (Source and more info on Maines Lobster Industry). I was lucky enough to work as a Connecticut State Employee on some of the States biggest commercial lobster boats.  I worked as a part of a sea sampling project, analyzing lobsters pulled up in the traps. This gave me the chance to see the industry from several sides, the fishermen, the state, and obviously the consumer.