"Making a Maine lobster roll is a simple thing. Heat up the grill, melt some butter in a split-top bun. Pack in a quarter-pound of claw meat, a slap of mayo, warm lemon butter, and mix in a proprietary seafood seasoning. In 2010, this was my routine. I worked at the original Luke's Lobster location in New York City's East Village. The shop was the size of a closet. Customers hung out at the counter."
"The initial pitch that launched Luke's Lobster's in 2009 matched the locavore times. Co-founder Luke Holden's father, Jeff, owned Portland Shellfish. He would buy the catch off the docks in Maine and send it south to Luke. In this era, the East Village was an epicenter for this kind of fresh, high-quality meal. Momofuku's David Chang was number three on Esquire's list of the most influential people of the 21st century."
"Many of these spots have been phased out. Although Luke's maintains shops around the city, the original location shut down in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic was the final nail in the takeout box. Restaurants closed down or pivoted to online orders and delivery to survive. Even Momofuku pared back its once relentless presence."
"Armed with corporate supply chains and national infrastructure, faceless yet ubiquitous "slop bowl" restaurants like Cava, Sweetgreen, and Chipotle took over lunch tables. Unlike a typical customer-facing chain like Applebees or Chili's, slop bowl spots require you to stand in front of an assembly line, making itemized choices that culminate in an ultimately, undiscernible bowl of mush."
A Maine lobster roll can be made by grilling, melting butter, and assembling a split-top bun with quarter-pound claw meat, mayo, warm lemon butter, and seafood seasoning. In 2010, a small East Village shop served customers at a counter and attracted notable patrons. The early pitch for a lobster business in 2009 emphasized fresh Maine shellfish sourced from docks and shipped to New York, aligning with locavore trends. Many similar restaurants later closed, including an original location that shut down in 2019, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating takeout and online pivots. Corporate supply chains enabled standardized “slop bowl” restaurants to dominate lunch, using assembly-line ordering that ends in indistinct bowls of food.
#maine-lobster-rolls #fast-casual-dining #locavore-food-sourcing #restaurant-closures #corporate-supply-chains
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