Kennebunkport Prelude Lobster Roll: Alisson's Restaurant & Pub

For the past few years, I've been trying to get down to see the Nubble Lighthouse in York all lit up for Christmas. Stuff happens and life gets in the way and I would always end up missing the window. But the stars aligned this holiday season and we found a Sunday evening to venture down south to see the lighthouse... and apparently so did every other human in the state. With a layer of fresh snow beckoning, the place was packed with hopeful photographers eager to get that perfect shot.

Lighthouses make me happy. Lighthouses decked in white lights make me downright giddy. So despite the cold weather and frigid wind, we hung out and snapped pics as the sky continued to darken. And behind us, the sky turned a brilliant orange as the sun disappeared. And then I was hungry.

We headed up Route 1 passing through quaint coastal town after quaint coastal town brilliantly decorated for the holidays. It was a lovely drive that found us making the right hand turn and heading into a quiet Kennebunkport to find a place to grab some dinner. We ended up at Alisson's Restaurant & Pub where a lively crowd had gathered and football graced every television screen.

After careful review of the menu, I settled on the Famous Maine lobster Roll. Duh. Mounds of Maine lobster lightly mixed with mayo in a grilled roll, served with french fries, coleslaw or deviled-egg potato salad for $19.95. When my meal arrived, I was quite pleased to see it served in a jumbo hot dog bun (that could've been toasted just a tad more) with a respectable amount of lobster meat. But that's where my pleasure ended. Sadly the potato salad was the best part of my dinner.

I'm not exactly sure what the problem was. The lobster meat didn't taste that great. It definitely wasn't a case of too much mayo or frozen lobster meat. It just tasted off. Well... not off enough that I didn't finish the sandwich, but it was definitely not making any headlines for me. I know there was fresh lobster available since I watched my husband devour the twin lobster special. (Or maybe the fresh lobster was reserved just for that special.) Dunno... it was a real head scratcher for me.