Turf

Turf

Montauk – Ditch Plains Dirt Lot Road B

Seafood

Turf, ever heard of it?  Probably not.  After a long exploration for the best lobster rolls in New York I was ready to crown The Lobster Roll aka Lunch as the champion.  That was until a local surfer led me to Turf.  Luke’s Lobster, Red Hook, Clam Bar, Ruschmeyer’s, The Sloppy Tuna, Duryea’s, Gosman’s and Cyril’s are all worthy competition but a far cry from the quality lobster rolls produced at the Ditch.  Turf, like Seabiscuit, had an inauspicious and somewhat unknown start, but the unlikely champion pulled off a victory that left me craving more.

Hidden down the Dirt Lot past the East Deck Motel in Ditch Plains lays an original 1967 Globetrotter Airstream.  The silver bullet serves fresh lobster rolls for local surfers and kook’s.  The quality lobster comes locally from Gosman’s Fish Market before Turf magically combines the lobster chunk and lobster salad styles.  Brought together by a touch of Old Bay-esq seasoning and a garnish of sliced scallion.  At a price of $18 Turf is $8 cheaper than The Lobster Roll and $3 more than Luke’s making themselves competitive in the pricey lobster roll game.

Do more, do less, better yet don’t do anything.  This may just be the staff’s modo and not just Paul Rudd teaching Jason Siegel how to surf in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  As they say: quality, price and service, pick two.  Quality? Check.  Price?  Check.  Service? …………… Let’s just chalk this up to the surfer bros endless summer, time standing still mentality. 

Pop up, do more.

 

Luke's Lobster

East Village – E 7^th Between 1^st and Ave A / UES- 81^st Between 2^nd and 3^rd

UWS- Amsterdam Ave Between 80^th and 81^st / FiDi- 26 S Williams Street

Seafood

Luke Holden, former UBS and CS Capital employee, enters the foodie arena giving new meaning to “claw backs” while bringing New Yorkers a fresh take on lobster.

Luke grew up in Maine working for the Portland Shellfish Company, his father’s seafood processing business. Between M.E. and Y.O.U, his strategic partnership with his father’s company solidified his leap of faith from crunching numbers in Excel to excelling in the restaurant business.

Luke’s is able to supply New Yorkers with lobster straight from the source, in what he claims takes 24 hours from sea to sale. His partnerships allow him to charge a steady rate of $15 for a New England top-split bun filled with succulent lobster, celery and butter. Splurge an extra $2 for a meal, which comes with a soda, chips & a pickle, or go the distance and turn that soda into an original Maine craft beer that you’ve never heard of… for an additional five dollars.

Each restaurant is decorated with buoys, lobster traps, and wood planks to provide the true Maine atmosphere to go along with the authentic Maine flavors. The lobster bisque sounds delightful but it’s a little too salty… almost as salty as every other lobster shack owner in NYC that actually pays a distributor.

Luke's Lobster, Portland Shellfish Company is your father.