Lobster ME proves you can get good seafood in the desert

Yeah, that old saw about no seafood in the desert gets disproved more every year. The latest participant toward that end: Lobster ME, in a mall adjacent to a Strip property that used to be named for the prince of the desert. How perfect is that?

The name of Lobster ME might seem like a play on lobster from Maine but it's not, say the people behind it. They want you to walk up to the counter, they say, and proclaim, "Lobster me." Well, all right then, and I have no quibble with the subliminal message. This is all cold-water lobster, they say, and it's OK with me if the fruits of my lobster roll were found in the waters of Maine or wandered to the other side of the maritime tracks to, say, Massachusetts. All I care about is if the lobster is good.

So is it? Absolutely, in the case of the large lobster roll ($16 alone, $19 as a combo). The only other size available is extra-large but don't be put off by the supersizing; the large was about the same size, I thought, as the average roll I've had in Maine. And here was the great thing about it: It was all lobster, all the time, including the meat of three smallish claws arranged across the top of the -- wait for it -- authentic split-top, side-buttered-and-grilled bun. It was excellent, and I liked the fries served with it, which were the broad-plank style, fried perfectly in sufficiently hot grease that they were crisp along the edges, fluffy inside.

The lobster and fries ($12), served in a cone, didn't measure up. Well, the fries were just as good, but although the six or so lobster nuggets had been deftly fried in a batter that cooked up both crisp and fluffy, we thought it was a bit overwhelming for the delicate taste of the lobster.

And that was the case with the lobster wontons ($8) as well. The lobster meat had been chopped very finely, mixed with a seasoning blend that had hints of curry, plus a little cream cheese, for a sort of lobster rangoon. But while the wontons fried up with the characteristic crispy tops and softer bottoms, and we liked the Thai-style sauce served on the side, the lobster was cut too finely to appreciate.

Lobster ME is, as I hinted, a counter-service place; you order at the counter and leave a name and they call you when it's ready to be picked up, which is somehow reminiscent of those lobster joints along the Maine coast, although not as dirt-cheap, of course. It's decorated to evoke those places, too, with an attractive cluster of hanging lobster buoys, various weathered-wood and lobster-model accents and, over the sign, a whole line of crabs.

Those were sort of odd, really, because crab is about the only seafoody thing that's not on this menu. There's fish and shrimp and lots and lots of lobster, including lobster and eggs or lobster and waffles for breakfast, lobster mac and cheese, lobster grilled cheese, the Lobsicle lobster tail on a stick and even lobster ice cream.

Which, I think, sounds like the perfect refutation for the idea that you can't get good seafood in the desert. Or for dessert.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.