To the Editor:

m/s VEENDAM
Cruise Log:
Friday, May 12, 2017 – Bar Harbor, Maine
07:25 Arrival to Bar Harbor
Weather Gentle Breeze, cloudy skies, 12° C/54F°

This town was the last port of call on our recent Holland America cruise from Montreal to Boston.  The sun that morning was trying to make its first appearance in several days. The ship anchored off shore as four smaller “tender boats” were lowered to bring us in.

A couple of years ago, we did the same cruise in reverse from Boston to Montreal. Once ashore, we wasted no time already knowing exactly what we wanted to do. We went straight to Agamont Park overlooking the harbor to find Chris’s Coffee shop and Chris of course.

Reaching his building, I looked up at the sign above but it read “Coffee Hound Coffee Bar.”  Oh my!  I thought for a moment the business had changed hands but did realize everyone, including myself, calls it “Chris’s.”

I opened the door anyway, peeked in and there was Chris, behind the register, in charge and working hard. Boy, was I relieved. I thought we had lost him.

We exchanged, “Hellos!” as if he remembered us, as any good businessman would, from the millions of folks who visit Bar Harbor and nearby Acadia National Park each year.  The shop had much more than excellent coffee as visions of lobster rolls rolled around my head.

This time around we met “Jen,” Chris’s partner and another charmer much like my wife. Two lucky fellows! I remembered Chris as a big man but he was much smaller than the last time we visited. He told us he had lost 80 pounds.

“Will power!” he said, “and not eating so much of my own product.”

The shop itself is small but the location is great and easy to find. The entry is only six-and-a-half feet wide but expands to all of eight feet near the counter. There are two tables for two, a shelf against the wall with a nice window view, and four high-back wood chairs for four more customers.

The shop, though, is quite sufficient in depth as it uses the entire length of the building built in 1887.  When busy, the crowd spills out with ample seating in the alley outside and the park directly across the street.

We were lucky to get a table. We sat down and ordered two hot espresso “Americanos,” which warmed us nicely on a chilly day by the ocean. We took some pictures and planned our next move, which invariably would include “shopping.” We told Chris we would be back for lunch. He gave us a “Whoopie Pie” to take with us and off we went.

On our way, we lingered to pick up beach stones and debated which ones to bring along. Weight is always my wife’s first concern. Thank goodness we were cruising and not flying. I remember once leaving Ireland with a very heavy carry-on. The Irish customs official was kind and commented on what a nice collection of beach stones I had but they needed to be checked as luggage or left behind.

Soon we were back in town once again at Agamont Park. It was time for lunch. Time to return to Chris’s for that lobster roll I had been looking forward to since I made our cruise reservations months ago.

Maine is famous for its lobsters and, one of the oldest continuously operated industries in North America since the early 1600s. Fisherman called them “bugs” and still do as they resemble great crawling insects.

In the 1700s, lobsters were so common and plentiful they were used as bait and spread on fields as fertilizer. Cheap lobster was used as prison food. Only the poor folks ate lobster.

In the 1820s, boats developed special wells to circulate cold seawater to keep them alive, extending the shipping time and distance. Lobsters grew in popularity as they reached new markets and cities like Boston and New York.

In the 1840s, the Underwood Company began canning lobster meat. Demand grew tremendously as canned lobster exceeded live sales leading to near disastrous overfishing by the 1880s. The state of Maine responded, effectively imposing common-sense regulations to protect and ensure its lobster population would be sustained.

The season was shortened. Restrictions were placed on the size that could be taken and most importantly female lobsters were protected. No longer allowed were the sloop boats and pull vessels that indiscriminately caught lobsters with their hoop nets.

Harvesting has since been done exclusively by hand with traps. Little has changed since as families passed on their trade traditions and knowledge from generation to generation to this day.

Maine’s families of lobstermen realized to protect their livelihood they must all work together, watch out for each other, and follow the rules to protect the breeding stock to ensure a dynamic lobster population is sustained.

What dramatically has changed the industry are improvements in how live lobsters are transported.  Railroads first made possible shipping lobsters live nationwide packed in moist seaweed and ice. Now, with jet airplanes, live lobsters can be flown worldwide overnight and delivered fresh to the wealthier folks that can afford the delicacy.

I’ve been told a lobster dinner in Germany goes for 140 Euro. The Coffee Hound lobster roll is a mid-range value t $19.99 served on a grilled bun, buttered with chips and a pickle.

The jargon businessmen use to measure or gauge their business activity has always interested me. Golf courses count “rounds.” Roofers want to knock out “squares.” Lobstermen tally the number of “bugs” they haul up from their “pots.” The owners at Chris’s count both “claws” and “cups.”

Lawyers desire a healthy number of “clients” for income. Andy, a friend of mine, had a law practice with over 10,000 clients. He is in prison now not eating lobster. I guess he had too many clients. Perhaps if he had paid more attention to the responsible way Maine lobstermen make a living, Andy might not have “overharvested” and gotten into so much trouble.

When most folks consider lobster they think, “Lobster tail! Lobster tail!” And they miss the best part of what’s hauled up from a lobster pot. First of all, the “tail,” unless attached to a live lobster, is most likely not at all fresh and “freshness” makes all the difference.

Secondly, the lobster tail happens to be the toughest, least tender meat. It’s stringy and nowhere near as flavorful as the more desirable claw or knuckle meat. When overcooked, a lobster tail that is not fresh is unbearably awful — a disappointing dining experience for sure best described as culinary double jeopardy.

So many visitors come each summer to Acadia National Park and the Bar Harbor vicinity, the hotels, shops, and restaurants flourish. The cruise industry adds over 100,000 well-to-do passengers each year to the mix, taking shore excursions, looking for adventure and other things to do around town.

The picturesque Bar Harbor restaurants on the water decorated with buoys and lobster traps are the nicest. They also are the most expensive especially for lobster. They keep customers in suspense with market pricing beyond my means but the quality is good. You can always walk in, have a peek, and take a free picture or two for that custom calendar.

Inland, most restaurants will post menus with prices. Others have “Please ask” where the price for lobster should be. One retail shop we visited offered a coupon for a $14.99 lobster roll but we chose to roll on to the Coffee Hound where the owner, Chris Keegan, was kind to give us a brief tutorial, comparing his lobster roll to the competition.

Chris uses four ounces of only superior claw and knuckle meat on his roll. Other rollers use two-and-a-half ounces or less with inferior tail meat added and mixed in. Chris uses for preparation “Grammy Keegan's secret recipe.”  She ran a diner for 20 years. Experience a plus! Obviously, the competition doesn't have the secret recipe. Advantage Keegan.

On our cruise, we had two gala “dress to the nines” dinner nights. Fortunately, my wife's preparation for the cruise focused on buying six new designer dresses (all on sale).  She went to Marshall’s! Every night she looked fabulous!

Myself? I bought for the cruise a navy jacket that actually fit well and was comfortable to wear with my matching navy sweat pants (brand new). My ensemble was nicely color coordinated. No one noticed otherwise as my wife received all the attention.

Every night I felt a bit like Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie “Catch Me If You Can.” As a wanted fugitive, he entered Miami Airport surrounded by a dozen gorgeous stewardesses eluding security as they were looking only at the girls. We both slipped by as all attention was elsewhere.

We did go to one memorable gala event on shore where we did not have to dress up. It was lunch, not dinner, in the smallest coffee shop I’ve ever seen. We brought our own bottled water and shared a fresh lobster roll. Undoubtedly, our best meal in Bar Harbor. And the whole cruise.

We’ll always remember our special times at the Coffee Hound Coffee Bar in Bar Harbor. We hope to see our friends Chris and Jen again when the tides are right to bring us in once more.

Ed Cowley

Altamont