Ed's Lobster Bar, New York

You know you're doing something right in the kitchen when the New York Times compares your lobster roll to a delicious boat. According to the paper, the lobster meat at Ed's Lobster Bar "bobs atop its butter-drenched roll like one of the sprawling yachts in the adjacent marina." The sandwich weighs in at a sizable 6 ounces, or 800 pounds if you order it with an anchor on the side. It's a signature item at the seafood joint, where the menu has an entire section devoted to the red crustacean. You can sample variants from lobster pot pie to lobster ravioli, or opt for the simplicity of an entire lobster, served steamed or grilled. There's even two types of lobster bisque to choose from as a starter.

Owner Ed McFarland doesn't let his fondness for lobster obscure other dishes, however. The raw bar places oysters alongside tuna tartare, while entrees of linguini with clams and oven-roasted Montauk bluefish are planned with the same precision given to the restaurant's eponymous shellfish. Vegetables are hardly an aside, either—in the summer, they come from Ed's personal garden.