photo: Christina Mitchell
Tasting Table has had a few epic-sounding Lobster Rumbles in New York and Los Angeles and they finally brought it to the Bay. My food blogger friends Brenda of Bites & Bourbon, Ben of Focus Snap Eat and Sandy of Food Hoe and I were invited and we all jumped at the opportunity. There were nine participating restaurants including Anchor & Hope, Old Port Lobster Shack, Local Mission Eatery, Waterbar, Farallon, Frank’s Oyster House, Wili’s Seafood & Raw Bar, and Oakland’s own Jack’s Oyster House, I tasted all of the lobster rolls and had a great time. Here are some suggestions for the next rumble:
photo: Christina Mitchell
Don’t eat lunch
Get there hungry because you need to save room for all those lobster rolls.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Get there early
We got there about 15 minutes early and there was already a line, but they were very organized and got us all inside within a few minutes.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Start at the end
All of the tables were numbered and set up around the perimeter of the room. We started at #9 and got through about half the room before we had to stand in any lines.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Get some booze
They were serving beer and wine but I was in the mood for a cocktail. Might as well sip on an Old Fashioned in between lobster rolls, right?
photo: Christina Mitchell
Don’t eat all the bread
I got this idea from Ben and it makes sense. If you don’t fill up on bread, you can save room for more lobster!
photo: Christina Mitchell
Save room for dessert
I was so full by the end of the night, but Humphry Slocombe’s Brown Butter ice cream turned out to be a really good last bite.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Vote for the one that makes you go mmm
At first I was thinking too much about all the different components and I started to confuse myself. This one was warm and complex, that one was cool and simple, but which one was BETTER?
photo: Christina Mitchell
At the end of the night, I just voted for the only lobster roll that made me go mmmmm, and that was Anchor & Hope’s. It had the perfect ratio of lobster to bread, which was toasted. The lobster was dressed very simply with lemon and lobster roe salt. And most importantly, when I took a bite, I involuntarily murmured “mmmm…”
photo: Christina Mitchell
Congratulations to Old Port Lobster Shack, who ended up winning. Their lobster roll was also really tasty and I would love to visit the restaurant one day. All in all, we had a great time and a portion of the proceeds went to Share Our Strength, so it was for a good cause.
Christina Mitchell
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