All Coastal Maine HWY 1 have in the summer is middle-aged white tourist and lobsters, as far as we know, that’s probably it. We see only a few people of our age during our weeklong trip. Lobster is a huge industry in Maine, in 2003, a good harvest year, the Maine lobster catch is approximately 55 million pounds and worth more than $200 million dollars. A good Maine lobsterman can earn up to $200,000 per year, and of course, some makes none.

We visited several places for lobsters to find the best Cheap Ass deals and we like Young’s Lobster Pound the best. Trust me, nothing get much fresher than this, you pick your own lobster from the pool and they boil it alive in the sea water (which have all the concentrated favor from boiling other lobsters as well).

My intention is to get two live lobsters, go back to the campsite and grill them (which we did will post the recipes later) The first thing the dude asks me is if I want soft shell or hard shell. Being a cheap ass, and look at the price on the board that says live soft shell lobster with 1 claw is only $6.99/lb almost makes me order that. But what’s the difference between soft shell and hard shell? I found out the soft shell contains more water in the body whereas hard shell has less, which means hard shell is much meatier and firmer and that’s why it is $7.99+/lb. Another thing I learned is in late May the lobsters are still hard shell but in late June to Mid-September the lobsters molt and their shells becomes soft.

So I think, we drove 8+ hours to come here why treat ourselves somthin’ a bit better, so I hand pick two hard shell 1.5 pounders myself, order a pound of Clams (which is the best buy) and it ends up being around $39, not bad of a deal.

Then I study their menu, the best deal is the Twin Lobster Specials- two 1.125 to 1.25lb lobsters + chips + butter for $27.95. Damnit, I should have got that. Shit! Then I overheard some customer order the Twin Specials and I follow the counter kid and find out they use soft shells for that meal. Then I stop cursing myself.

That makes me start doing the math, if you handpick two 1.2lbs soft shell with two claws yourself from the pool its $7.99 X 3=$23.97, which is four bucks cheaper than the meal. And they say they will cook it for no charge. Hmmm, that’s what I am gonna do next time…

Maine Seafood CHEAP ASS FOOD!