Two rolls. One bun. A rivalry that splits families and starts arguments at the dinner table. Pick a side.
Team Maine: cold, with mayo
Chilled lobster meat, a whisper of mayo, maybe a little celery, piled in a toasted split-top bun. It's clean, it's classic, and it lets the lobster do the talking. Purists never order anything else.
Team Connecticut: warm, with butter
Connecticut went the other way: warm lobster meat drenched in drawn butter, no mayo in sight. It's richer, messier, and arguably the most indulgent sandwich in America. This is the one that makes people close their eyes.
The verdict
Here's our hot take: cold-with-mayo for a hot summer day, warm-with-butter for everything else. If we had to crown one, Connecticut's butter roll wins on pure pleasure — but say that too loudly in Maine and you'll be eating alone.
The lobster roll is usually traced to Perry's in Milford, Connecticut, in the 1920s — meaning the butter camp technically got there first.
Mayo or butter? There's no wrong answer — but there is a side. Which one's yours?
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