The Best Lobster in America, Eat in or Ship Home

Lucky You! Debbie and I have traveled over 100,000 miles on our Harleys, and a lot of those miles have been on the East Coast, often on the search for the best country inns and specialty eats, including lobster. Well, in the two decades on the road, we have never deviated from our vote for America’s #1 lobster spot. You want to get to 1237 Bar Harbor Road, Trenton Maine. You’ll find yourself at Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, founded more than three generations ago in 1956.We have known the owners since our earliest days on our Harley trips to the coast of Maine.

On this last road trip, we once again made it back to Trenton Bridge as part of a seven-state East Coast swing, which included the state of New York as well as all of the New England states. Arrive at 11:30 to beat what can be a major rush. You will recognize the owners from the minute you walk inside. Trenton Bridge’s patriarch has been at the front counter since we first arrived years ago. Order up a pound and a half steamed lobster, steamed clams, coleslaw and clam chowder, and you’re ready to go. Grab a business card on the way out so you’ll be ready to order from home. Trenton’s coastal Maine location ensures terrific quality and fresh delivery. Lobsters are caught year round in the cold waters off Mount Desert Island.

If you are going in the summer months, you might want to bypass Bar Harbor and head south to stay in Camden Maine at, ideally, Camden Harbor Inn or possibly Grand Harbor Inn. Reserve one of three porch fronted harbor facing rooms at Camden Harbor and reserve for dinner at the most excellent Natalie’s. OpenTable.com calls Nat’s the best French restaurant in New England. Quite honestly, the competition is wafer thin, but Natalie’s is indeed superb. We found the rooms to be outstanding, too, and the service, top to bottom, excellent. You can fly into Portland’s neat airport and rent a car. Do not venture off to the coast of Maine on weekends, or you will spend hours in traffic jams. The word brutal is an understatement.

My next travel feature will give you the best two places to stay in Portland (and there are only two), along with some special restaurant selections and a sleeper of an area that you will not want to miss. I will also list for you our two Portland choices for seafood mail order. Both are fantastic. OK, on to Maine for the best summer getaway you can imagine. Enjoy and say hi to Josette and her family at Trenton Bridge for Debbie and me.