A couple weeks back, I found out that Anthony Bourdain and David Chang would be having a talk at the 92nd Street Y. I immediately bought tickets for CT & myself before even asking if she could go because I knew she would cancel whatever she had to see them. I told Aunt B about it and she decided to get tickets too for her and her friend, CM.
Since it was a weeknight and we were all coming from work, CT, Aunt B, and I decided to grab a bite uptown before the discussion. CM was going to meet us at the Y. None of us get to the UES that often, so we had to decide where we should go eat. The options are getting better by the day- Shake Shack, Cascabel, etc. We ended up checking out the newest location of Luke’s Lobster. CT & I had a taste back in the winter at the original East Village location during the Taste of Seventh Street and really liked it. The UES location is bigger than the original, but still pretty small as a restaurant. There is only counter-service.
Aunt B went the the Lobster Roll Schooner Combo ($16) which comes with the full sized roll, pickle, bag of Miss Vickie’s potato chips, and a drink. She liked it a lot as far as I could tell, since she ate the whole thing. She heard good things about Luke’s from some friends and was not disappointed. She was also quite shocked at the price considering the last time she had one, probably 15 years ago, it was well over $20.
CT & I went for the Noah’s Ark ($38). It comes with 2 small lobster, crab & shrimp rolls, 2 pairs of empress claws, 2 chips & 2 drinks. Again, a pretty good deal. I was quite happy with the different rolls. The lobster was delicious as usual. I really like the crab roll, super fresh and yummy. The shrimp roll was good, but I like the shrimp roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound better. The warm toasted buns were very good especially since they each probably had a stick of melted butter in them.
Crab, Lobster, Shrimp from top to bottom
CT says: This was a delightful weekday treat! The lobster roll was, obviously, my favorite! Pure lobster on a buttery roll… delicious! Unlike TT, my second favorite was the shrimp roll. That’s not to say I didn’t like the crab roll, because I really did, but I liked the shrimp roll better. The shrimps were sweet and cooked just right with a pinch of seasoning. I think if the crab hadn’t been quite so shredded then the crab roll could have won me over. Still, I would happily eat any or all of those rolls again!
We got one root beer and one sarsparilla from Maine Root. I am no longer a soda drinker, but I made a special exception here. These were very high quality sodas!
CT says: I’m a big soda drinker, but not root beer. However, I tried the sarsparilla and, to my surprise, liked it! I still have no idea was sarsparilla is, but it has a good flavor and I’d recommend giving it a try if you see it.
All in all, it was a very good meal. The prices are quite reasonable for the amount and quality of the shellfish you get. I definitely recommend checking either location out.
CT & I ended up with front row seats at the Bourdain/Chang talk. It was very interesting, but they said a lot of what you can find in their books. For some reason, a lot of people who don’t like these guys or the UES came to the talk and then wrote up scathing reviews the next day. I just find that sad and weird.
Aimee says
Sweet! Lobster rolls and Chang and Bourdain!
CT says
Haha…It was a great night! If only David had handed out some pork buns to the front row.
Monique says
i went to see a talk last night with David Chang… hes awesome!
I have YET to try a lobster rol… what is wrong with me?
Monique says
oh yeah… and i registered for Saturdays WAKE UP event.. so, finally get to meet you and Hungry! yay!
TT says
TT(author of this post) can’t make it, but yes, Yvo will be there.
CT says
I agree – DC gets a bad rep because people take so much of what he says out of context! Reading this event’s reviews the next day was so frustrating.
And you definitely need to try a lobster roll soon!
Connie says
Wow, they don’t mess around with the seafood. That looks delicious! Unadorned and served simply, the best way to enjoy fresh seafood.
Ada says
Woah I didn’t know Luke’s opened an UES location! I am a huge fan of their LES locale and find their crab rolls to be quite outstanding.
T.C. says
Awesome seafood rolls!! And I been weaning off soda again but root beer is a fav!!
Too bad on the haters of Chang and Bourdain. Jealous of their success perhaps.
Hungry says
What does Sarsparilla taste like? I have a bottle in my fridge from Vermont but am afraid that it might taste like root beer which I don’t like.
TT says
well, it does taste like root beer with subtle differences.
use it as a base for bbq sauce?
Feisty Foodie says
/ahem Root beer is a generic term given to sodas that have root extract – extract being from any sort of tree root, birch trees, sarsaparilla trees, or other. Today’s general root beers tend to be made with artificial flavorings (which is why most people don’t like them, I feel) that approximate exactly a mish mash of all the roots, but no real root flavor. Good soda companies that use actual root extract are harder to find, but they exist, and imo are worth seeking out. Thankfully, Danny Meyer and I believe David Chang (whom I dislike) have actually worked to bring root beer(s) back in vogue – the UES location of Shake Shack has root beer on draft, though if you go, be sure to drink it quickly because as it opens up from the time it’s pulled, I find the flavor deteriorates rather quickly (though I admit I haven’t had real root beer on tap very often, this definitely descends quickly into “omfg artificial and that vanilla dominates” territory). I’ve had Abita in the bottle previously and have found it acceptable, without vanilla dominating the taste profile, though it is by no means my favorite.
I love root beer, it is a huge weakness of mine (and caused a car accident for me once, I am serious). I can go on and on about it for hours, but no one cares…
Feisty Foodie says
Also, your post makes me want to go to Luke’s. The prices seem more palatable in your post than they did when we went in Feb.