Lobster in SoCo?

Well, do pictures count? 'Cause I can tell you right now you're not gonna get lobster this good in our hood. Now granted, the tails on these guys aren't the biggest, but man, they were good.

I'm a bit hesitant to give the details about where they were purchased, but since I probably can count the numbers of readers of this blog on 2 hands, I think I'm OK. If you haven't visited Georgetown, Maine, I highly recommend it. These guys were purchased from the 5 Islands Lobster Company in what arguably is the most picturesque harbor in the state - or the east coast for that matter.

Part of the reason for their small size is that in August most of the lobsters brought in by the local lobstermen are shedders (soft-shell). These typically come in smaller than the hard shells. But unlike the soft-shells we're used to, you don't eat the entire crustacean. But the shell is easier to crack than the hard-shells. I took these luscious creatures and first steamed them and followed that up with some grill time and a nice garlic-butter sauce. Heaven on a plate!

Earlier in the week, my partner and I went the more traditional route and had lobster rolls and some rings. These luscious sandwiches were purchased at Mama D's which now makes it home right out of the Georgetown Country store. Mama D took over the counter at the store earlier in the year and expanded the menu. And I am glad they did! The rolls were fab - not too much mayo or other filler and just a small piece of lettuce to add a crunch. And as you can see from just looking at those rings - wow. They were simply thinly sliced onions before we put in the order, but then they were floured and dropped in the fryer. And that order is a small!!

My one complaint, you can't get a beer when eating at the counter. The store has plenty of brews, but they don't have the license to sell them for consumption inside. It was a hardship - but I did overcome it.

I'll end this non-SoCo post with one more pic; this one is from the Portland Farmer's Market. This market, in Deering Oaks Park, is held every Saturday from April to October. (Editor's comment - if this farmer's market can start in April, I think the much warmer Silver Spring market can start earlier than May, right?) Anyway, given the cooler temperatures in Portland, their produce was about a month or so behind ours. As you can see they had some wonderful carrots, onion and beets for sale. In addition, there was plenty of potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes along with some good looking beef and pork products. You couldn't ask for much else. We stocked up well for our week long stay in 5 Islands. One item that was missing was Maine cheese.

But luckily, we remedied that problem by driving to a great little farm about 45 minutes from Portland - Nezinscott Farm (they don't have their own website but you can check out this link with a short video of the farm). And OK I lied, one more pic.

These happy cows provided us with some wonderful cheese for the week (helped out by some sheep). We also appreciated the offering brought forth by their pork colleagues which produced some award-winning bacon. Needless to say, with the amount of pork, butter, lobster and other foods consumed last week, my arteries are now on vacation.

But it was all worth it. The Portland/Georgetown area is not too far from SoCo (under 600 miles). We were able to pull into Portland on a Friday afternoon (4:00) with a 6:30AM start. Not too bad. And unlike my childhood days, we even stopped for bathroom breaks and a quick lunch.

All right, I have gone on more than long enough with my non-SoCo post. I'll be back soon with some fresh news about some hot and hip local dining destination. On second thought, maybe I'll just write about someplace in our neighborhood.