5 ways Portland, Maine raises the lobster bar

Even before my recent visit to Portland Maine, the words “Maine” and “lobster” were inseparable for me – kind of like Idaho potatoes or Wisconsin cheese.

And it didn’t take long after arriving in Portland to realize that in the case of the vaunted Maine lobster, it’s no hype. The lobster is simply that good.

In fact, after my week and a half in coastal Maine, I may be ruined forever for prepackaged, shipped, or previously frozen lobster. I have to say it: A visit to Portland is almost certain to change the way you look at lobster.

Certainly, going into my Portland trip, my lobster standards were fairly low.

As a lifelong resident of landlocked locales, lobster has been an occasional treat for me – a celebratory meal or a holiday extravagance limited mostly to chain seafood restaurants.

Even in a pre-prepared form, though, lobster has always epitomized a gastronomic indulgence for me. Still, I always suspected there was more to the ruddy crustacean than what I was getting.

My week and a half in Maine confirmed it. Virtually every restaurant I tried in Portland served amazing lobster – sweet, succulent, tender, and plentiful.

I still don’t consider myself an expert, but after eating lobster virtually every day for my 10-day Maine visit, I learned a few things

Here are five reasons a visit to coastal Maine might make you bit of a lobster snob:

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