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| Photo by Roger Kimpton |
Down East Delicacy
by Roger Kimpton
At Waterman's in Maine, dishing up a simple lobster roll is a family business
Four miles outside the little fishing village of South Thomaston, Maine, a tree-lined road meanders toward a tiny peninsula where a weathered, grey-shingle beach shack crouches against the backdrop of the cold blue surf. This is Waterman's country and the shack, like the road, bears the same name. Here, on a worn deck partially shaded by an awning, visitors and locals flock for the quintessential "taste of Maine summer. ..."
At Waterman's, lobster rolls are a family affair. Founded in 1986 by Ed and Ann Cousens, the shack's service window is now run by Ann's daughter, Sandy Cousens Manahan, while Ann's sister-in-law Lorri Cousens does the cooking.
"We have people who come every year," says Manahan. "I try to remember their names and for some I have their order in before they get to the window."
Waterman's does a bustling business from June to September, when the ocean breezes take on a chill that whistles through the shack's uninsulated plywood interior, and ends the season. Most folks come not only for the lobster roll, but also for the lobster dinners, steamers, and homemade pies from the Cousens' grandmother's original recipe.
The signature roll recipe, handed down through the generations, is as unembellished as a down-easter's speech: mayonnaise, lobster, and a buttered hamburger roll. The key to its spectacular taste is the freshness of the lobster, hauled up daily on the restaurant's dock by Lorri Cousen's husband, lobsterman David Cousens.
Clam and lobster shacks like this one are plentiful along Maine's coast, but only this one has been celebrated as an American Classic by the prestigious James Beard Society. It is located at the edge of a 25-acre plot of land that has been in the family for more than 200 years. The land is now dotted with 11 homes where members of the clan still live.
The family has no secrets. Their success, says Cousens, depends on three things:
"It's really so simple," Cousens says. "The very freshest lobster, a little mayonnaise, and a toasted bun."
Continue to the recipes: Steamed Lobster and Waterman's Maine Lobster Rolls
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