Abbott's Lobster in the Rough in Noank, CT

Road trips can be amazing experiences. I love pretty much everything about them. The interesting local sites, fights for control of the music (or succumbing to the local country station), and the unique conversations that develop when you're sitting in a small confined place for hours with friends, family, sometimes people you only just met.

One of my only gripes about road trips is the lack of good, tasty and healthy (or at least healthier!) food options easily available on the road. Or so I thought... Why settle for the drive-thru when there are tons of amazing little spots within minutes off the highway? It's sometimes as much about the journey as the destination itself...

On a recent trip to Nantucket, my friend (whose family lives nearby in Mystic, CT) directed us 7 minutes off Highway 95 to Abbott's Lobster in the Rough in Noank, CT -- a hidden gem located about midway between New York City and Hyannis Port, MA (where you take the ferry or plane to Nantucket). And the dining setting is absolutely beautiful -- a quintessential New England fishing village right on the bay!

The menu consists mostly of seafood -- whole lobster dinners, steamed clams, steamed mussels, lobster bisque, clam chowder, crab cakes, oysters, and more. But the best thing is their "Famous Hot Lobster Roll." It's a quarter pound of pure fresh lobster meat mounted on a toasted and buttered bun. No gobs of mayo to hide the taste of the delicious lobster. One of the best lobster rolls I've had in a while!

And the decor is simple -- you order outside, and you can either sit inside or at bare picnic tables outside right on the water. Open daily noon to 9 p.m., Memorial Day to Labor Day.

For non-seafood lovers, there are a few options: mac & cheese, grilled cheese, oven roasted half chicken. 

Abbott's Lobster in the Rough

117 Pearl Street
Noank, CT 06340
Phone: 860-536-7719

www.abbotts-lobster.com