Nunan's Lobster Hut

9 Mills Rd., Kennebunkport, ME - (207) 967-4362

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Posted By Michael Stern on 1/18/2009 2:30:00 PM

The best thing about Nunan's Lobster Hut, other than the lobster, is the plumbing. In particular, the sinks. Should you desire to wash your hands before, during, or after eating, the sinks are right there, out in the open dining room, ready for immediate action. They are serious, proletarian sinks, like you'd want to have next to your workbench in the basement. For drying hands, Nunan's supplies rolls of paper towels.

In some restaurants, this arrangement might not be so appealing, but at Nunan's Lobster Hut -- which really is a hut -- the sanitary accommodations are exactly right because this place is designed for serious lobster eating. Tables have easy-wipe surfaces with ribs around the edge to keep the inevitable mess from falling to the floor. The floor is painted battleship grey, which makes it easy to swab at the end of the day. Overhead lights are unadorned tubes. A touch of romance is provided in the form of a utility candle stuck in a thick cork on every table.

Lobsters are brought to tables on pizza pans, accompanied by bags of potato chips and store-bought rolls. Coffee is served in mugs. Water comes in paper cups. Bring your own wine or beer.

No frills at Nunan's will distract you from the perfection of the lobster (except maybe the view, when the panels on the sides of the dining room are raised and reveal a pleasant vista of Cape Porpoise marshlands). Each lobster is steamed to order in a couple inches of salty water for exactly 20 minutes, emerging with silky tender claw meat, its knuckles and tail succulent and chewy.

The Nunan family have been lobstering for three generations, so by now they have the process of enjoying their catch down to its essence. After you've polished off the lobster, there are homemade brownies or a slice of pie, the recipes for which have been perfected over the last thirty years. Blueberry and apple are memorable, their subtly-sweetened fruits encased in sugar-dusted crusts.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Lobster

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