I’ve heard people in Colorado say, “We just can’t get good seafood here since we’re a landlocked state.” That isn’t true, actually. I know of restaurants that can get seafood from Japan and our coasts within 24-48 hours, Misaki, Water Grill, and Blue Island Oyster Bar being among them. So when we encounter restaurants that offer up oysters, clams, crab and lobster and the like, we should take advantage of tasting a little bit of the ocean. For lobster lovers, Maine Shack is a prime source, especially for the quintessential lobster roll. Be sure to see the great deal Maine Shack is offering for Labor Day Weekend.
Relationships are key between restaurants and fishermen (fisherpersons?) to help ensure they know what kind of product they are going to get, what the quality will be (within their control) and when they can get it. At Maine Shack, that connection is with a family-run purveyor, Greenhead Lobster in Stonington, Maine from whom they receive shipments of fresh lobster several times a week that are sustainably-caught and traceable. That’s something diners can feel really good about, especially when we are kind of at the mercy of these restaurants to provide us with great examples of fresh seafood here.
We’ve been wanting to try Maine Shack, located in the LoHi neighborhood for a while now but, frankly, there has always been a line out the door when we’ve gone. We picked 6pm on a recent Monday though and managed to walk right in, step right up to the counter to order and easily claim a seat upstairs. But it wasn’t long though before every seat, downstairs and up, was taken.
There were three things I really appreciate about Maine Shack right off the bat. The first is that they have a fun, totally Maine kitchy decor that features authentic New England pieces. The interior decor is handcrafted by friends Ryan Eldridge, Ashley Morrill and Jedi Baker of Maine Cabin Masters, from the Magnolia Network. They’re childhood buds of one of Maine Shack’s owners, Drew Ryan.
Second, I appreciate their commitment to providing a variety of things that give us a taste of authentic New England fare and the variety of lobster roll offerings. To that first point, they have whole belly clams, scallops, haddock, chowder, lobster pie with Ritz cracker, and a North Shore 3 Ways sandwich with rare roast beef, American cheese, sweet & tangy BBQ sauce, and mayo, served warm.
The third thing I really appreciate is that Maine Shack offers eight different lobster roll variations (that doesn’t include things that include lobster like the Lobster B.L.T. and Lobster Grilled Cheese). I mean, if you’re going to bring fresh seafood to Colorado, all the way from the East Coast, offer it up plentifully! It was super-helpful that there is a chart taped to the order counter listing which lobster rolls are served warm and which are served cold. That had been our first question and the question of the people right after us. It probably happens so many times a day, that chart was a necessity.
The Lobsterado is probably the king of all the lobster rolls at Maine Shack, judging by its price at $39, and the fact that it has lobster tail instead of the usual claw and knuckle meat (CK). Since lobster rolls do not happen in my life but every few years (or less), this is the one I went for (more on that below). But there is also the Connecticut ($28) with poached CK meat in clarified butter, the Maine Shack ($27) with mayo, sea water and drizzled butter, and the Fancy ($27) with cucumber, celery, lemon herb mayo and bibb lettuce, among the options. In retrospect, it would have been smart, given the rarity of my lobster-roll-consumption, to have ordered the Slider Trio ($36) which offers choose among three varieties plus coleslaw and fries. All rolls are served on a toasted New England frank bun (slit from the top instead of horizontally).
To get a taste of several things, my hubbie ordered the Fried Haddock ($17) served with tartar sauce, fries, and slaw. You can also get Fried Haddock in a sandwich. I ordered the Lobsterado, and we shared Clam Chowder ($7 cup/$9 bowl) and an Old Orchard Beets salad ($10) with mixed greens, roasted golden beets, goat cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds and cider vinaigrette.
The Haddock and fries were very good and had great texture. Although the tartar sauce was excellent, what really enhanced the flavor was the malt vinegar on the side. It was nice to have options for dipping both the haddock and the fries. The clam chowder got mixed reviews from us. I felt it was lacking enough clam flavor over the creamy base but my husband thought it was clammy enough. In fairness to the chowder, not two days before, I’d had an amazing bowl in a seaside restaurant in Corpus Christi known for its chowder, setting a high standard.
The salad at Maine Shack was excellent! I’m not much of a beet fan but the golden ones are mellow and don’t overpower the flavor of the salad. The cider vinaigrette tasted more citrusy than cider-like and the creaminess of the goat cheese was a nice foil to the crunch of toasted pumpkin seeds.
The Lobsterado was overflowing with lobster! Normally, lobster rolls are kind of small in size while being big in price but this lobster roll is definitely worth its price in gold (er, butter-poached lobster tail meat). Mild in taste and meaty, it’s topped with chives and nestled in a brown butter toasted roll. The sandwich was so plentiful, along with sharing the chowder and salad, I could only eat half of it. It was great leftover the next day though. The Lobster Rolls come with chips but you can upgrade to fries or onion rings. I recommend the onion rings, which I was told are corn bread battered. They were amazing!
We didn’t partake of the beers (can or bottle), wine or cocktails (canned). Nor we did go for dessert because we were just too full. Too bad, because the Whoopie Pie and Blueberry Hand Pie, both $7, sounded darned good. And just look at the Pie, below!
Besides the LoHi location, Maine Shack can be found in multiple locations in Colorado, at Coors Field and Empower Field and, coming this fall, Boulder. And, they can be found in two spots in Florida! We went to the location at 1535 Central St. Visit their website to learn more.
-Story and photos except where noted by Courtney Drake-McDonough, publisher & managing editor, InGoodTasteDenver.com
Please note, to help facilitate this article, we were hosted for our visit but as is always the case, that does not sway our opinions and observations which we offer up to our readers, honest and true, so that they can go and decide for themselves.
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