Let the lobster fun commence

And, following an immense breakfast - lobster benedict, what else could it be? - and negotiating a rather large crustacean, I'm in The Maine Lobster Festival.

It's early here - 9:30am - but there's already a steady flow of people, and an awful lot of seafood to sample. Not sure the ferris wheel is a good idea...

Orrs Island Chowder

'We call it "chumming",' explains Bill Cossette of Orrs Island Chowder.

Fans of Jaws will be familiar with the concept but basically, it's giving a small taster of their chowder to passers-by. It works. Well, it certainly did on me. One small sample of this... this... this elixir, this food of the gods and I'm reaching for my wallet. It's amazing, a clean, rich, creamy taste of the sea, that somehow also isn't too fishy.

Roger Michaud came up with the recipe over 30 years ago at his fishing and trading business on Orrs Island, off Brunswick, and still plays a small part in the company. What started as a sideline is now a popular Maine favourite, and understandably so. It's the first dish I've finished this week.

'Come see us again before you leave,' says Bill... and you know, I think I might.

The Lobster Empanada

Well, it's been minutes since I've eaten and this contains onions so by my standards this week that's virtually a salad.

'This' in this instance is a ridiculously packed lobster empanada from Morgan's Mills. Their role in the area? Making flour, so what better way to showcase it here than as pastry around Maine's famous seafood and the state's celebrated fruit?

The man, by the way, is the very helpful Elliott, who also gave me some more lobster roll places to hit. Er, MSN / Motel 6, can I stay on another week then?

The Star of the Show

Here's the reason we're here. The lobster itself. In this case a thankfully small, but really quite unhappy male lobster. If you're unhappy now mate, you should see what's in store...

The Cook Off

The atmosphere is very friendly and, as lunchtime (well, for normal non food-writing people) approaches, it's getting busier. Wafts of steam, frying smells, hints of lemon fill the air and everyone is beaming.

The mood is slightly different in one tent though where the competition is in full swing. There it's edgy and aggressive... Ah, who am I kidding? This is Maine where you can have three conversations between getting out of your car and getting into a diner. Even the cook off is cheery.

Pooled Resources

There's even a touch pool to get up close and personal with the celebrated crustaceans...

Finest Fried Maine Seafood

You know what's depressing? We do equally good seafood in the UK but we don't celebrate it. Maine is dotted with amazing shacks, restaurants and trailers that do glorious, but gloriously simple, things to their local produce and, as far as I've experienced, always to perfection.

Take Finest Fried Maine Seafood. Started by Chuck Huus 30 years ago, they're serving up fried scallops, clam strips, haddock and shrimp. No bells, no whistles, just great fresh fish, perfect batter and hot oil.

Fronting their stall at the Maine Lobster Festival is Chuck's daughter Seren and 'my as good as a sister' Tracy Beck, as Seren describes her. The shrimp is a thing of wonder. Well, not wonder: the reasons it's so good are obvious. Simple pleasures, eh?

I Love a Party with a Happy Atmosphere

Currently sitting surrounded by people from as far afield as Oklahoma and Calfornia, as well as people from just up the road. The common denominator? The pink-shelled wreckage of well cooked, achingly fresh lobsters in front of us all. And the bibs. And no, you don't get a photo of that...

...mind you, the fried Snickers probably cancels that out.

Let's Rock
What do you do with old lobster baskets? Here's one brilliant solution...

Signing Off
Feeling slightly broken but beaming from ear to ear, a state I expect many
will be in today. The sun is out, the smells are great, the Festival is
buzzing, the Harbor (hey, their country, their rules) is beautiful and the
lobsters continue to fly out, in a manner of speaking. The lobsters are
done to perfection, and so am I. The fun here continues for the rest of the
day, plus tomorrow and Sunday. I, however, have a long drive to Boston,
where the food-based fun will continue on Twitter, via @MSNFood and
@DineHard.

Maine Lobster Festival. You've been brilliant. I ate a few but I think I've
left you with enough to be getting on with...

Signing Off

Feeling slightly broken but beaming from ear to ear, a state I expect many
will be in today. The sun is out, the smells are great, the Festival is buzzing, the Harbor (hey, their country, their rules) is beautiful and the
lobsters continue to fly out, in a manner of speaking. The lobsters are done to perfection, and so am I.

The fun here continues for the rest of the day, plus tomorrow and Sunday. I, however, have a long drive to Boston, where the food-based fun will continue on Twitter, via @MSNFood and @DineHard.

Maine Lobster Festival. You've been brilliant. I ate a few but I think I've
left you with enough to be getting on with...