Luke's Lobster
3200 South Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
It was another jaunt through the desert for a quick Las Vegas getaway. Katie wanted to watch a live taping of her favorite podcast with her brother and sister in law, and I wanted some time away from work. Of course, it also gave me a chance to try some more restaurants in the desert oasis that is Las Vegas.
After the four hour trek, Katie needed a quick nap before our first night's festivities, which included dinner with her mom and dad, (who also happened to be in town for one of their many visits to Las Vegas), drinks back at the hotel where her brother was staying, and of course a little gambling or as many call it, donating.
As Katie slept off the effects of driving, her mom, dad, and I went out for a quick bite, and to see what kind of trouble the three of us could get into on this late afternoon. I had eaten a Double Western Cheeseburger at the Outlets in Primm, so I was not overly hungry, and Lynn and Dennis just wanted a little something to tide them over until dinner. On our way to the Wynn, we spotted a place that would be the perfect spot for a quick bite, Luke's Lobster.
I had Luke's on my list of places to try for a while now, but we haven't been to this end of the Strip in forever. I guess I had not done my homework, as I was a little shocked that this was little more than a kiosk located in front of the Fashion Show Mall, facing busy Las Vegas Boulevard. Okay, a kiosk might not be the right way to describe this place, maybe small shack is the way to go here. Luke's is 245 square feet, with a tiny covered patio that features five small tables, just large enough for ten or so people.
Another thing I did not know about Luke's is that they are a chain restaurant based in Maine, which just happens to be the state that harvests the most lobster in the US, a staggering 40 million pounds a year. Luke's Lobster started 10 years ago in New York and has spread out to 38 locations, with most being on the East Coast, but they also have outposts in San Fransisco, Chicago, Taiwan, and Japan. Luke's buys directly from lobsterman so they can trace where their seafood comes from. When we were here the lobster came from Maine, the crab came from St. John's Newfoundland, and the shrimp was from Quebec.
The menu here is pretty straight forward. They have shrimp. lobster, and crab rolls, which come in the standard quarter-pound size, or you can go for the jumbo version, which includes fifty percent more seafood in each roll. You also have the option to get your roll as part of a combo with one side item, or with a side soup. There are a couple of seasonal items and sides of chips or poppy seed slaw. Now that you know the lay of the land, let's see what we thought of our quick afternoon snack.
Much like eating in a Mexican or Barbecue restaurant, I figured the best way to try out more stuff at Luke's was to get the Luke's Trio ($29) which came with a half of a lobster, shrimp, and crab roll, cup of soup and a drink. The seafood comes out chilled and served in a buttered bun with mayo, lemon butter, and a dash of their secret seasoning. I'm always partial to heated seafood, but understand this is how it's served back east. Out of the sandwiches, my favorite was the shrimp, which I did not think would have been the case before eating here. It had the most flavor of the three. The lobster and crab was definitely fresh but lacked that spark that would hook me in. I liked the buns, which were heated a bit, but these sandwiches needed to be dressed with a bit more of the mayo and lemon butter to help make the seafood shine a bit more. There are two soup options at Luke's and my father in law got the Clam Chowder. The soups are made by Hurricane Soups, which is based in Greene, Maine. They have won numerous awards for their chowder and we could see why when we tasted this. It was full of clams and cubed potatoes, in a very creamy chowder base. Very good on a chilly late afternoon. I look forward to trying their lobster and corn chowder next time.
I look at this visit to Luke's Lobster as an initial test. The trio of sandwiches that we had was a little too small of a sample size for me to truly get a firm grasp of what they have going here, especially since I split each small sandwich with Katie's mom. I did like what I had but was not blown away. I'm always in favor of quality seafood becoming more available to the greater public. Not how it was when I was growing up, where the only options for seafood were either a Filet O' Fish at McDonald's or the fried stuff from H.Salt Fish and Chips. Back then if you wanted good quality fish, you had to make reservations at a restaurant with a white tablecloth. Places like Luke's Lobster have changed that, and it's an encouraging trend. We will definitely be back when we are back at this end of the strip and craving lobster and don't want to pay a fortune for it, especially after we lose all our money playing craps.
Out of five toothpicks, (because Luke's Lobster is based in Maine, and that state produces 90 percent of the nations toothpick supple), five being best to zero being worst, Luke's Lobster gets three toothpicks.
For more information about Luke's Lobster, head to their website here: https://www.lukeslobster.com/
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