I wouldn’t heave Mickey D’s lobster roll out the car window. I mean, at first bite, it wasn’t as bad as expected. Don’t’ get me wrong. It’s nothing more than an unremarkable sandwich.
In all its glory, the McDonald’s lobster roll
Of course what tourist in their right mind would come to Maine and have a facsimile of a lobster roll prepared in the back of a machine and forked over through the take-out window? There are probably more roadside lobster roll joints in Maine than there are McDonald’s, and the worst offer far better fare. But for the price ($7.99) you get what you pay for. And, for the hungry traveler I could see it as a streamlined alternative to the Bacon McDouble. Though it makes you wonder whether American fast-food savants are finally eschewing the ignominy of unhealthy noshing, and chains like Mc D’s are feeling pinched, looking for healthier dishes.
Compare: C Salt’s $23.75 lobster roll (left) and McDonald’s version at $7.99 (right). They look comparable but C Salt’s was fresher and more flavorful though triple the price
I ordered mine at the St. John Street McDonald’s, a dour branch of this fast-food dragon. I got the works with a medium fries and medium soft drink. With tax it came to a little over $11.
I ate it inside instead of on-the-go. The place was fairly empty and I sat like a prince at a big round table. I picked a piece of the lobster meat out of the roll to taste. There was a good amount of lobster meat set on a modest amount of shredded lettuce stuffed into a toasted roll that was cold. It actually had the flavor of the sea, a faint brininess, however fleeting.
No one else was having a lobster roll; MacDonald’s fries, however, are classic
The more I ate, however, the less appealing it became: watery, fairly flavorless, but no off tastes. But it went down the hatch easily to satisfy my lunchtime appetite. What I realized is that this is a fast-food sandwich that’s a lot healthier to eat (only 290 calories) compared to the gobs of fat found in a Big Mac. I rarely stop at Mickey D’s. But when the occasion arises I think I’d order a lobster roll as the lessor of other evils.
