The taste and texture of lobster meat change with the seasons. Summertime lobsters have soft, new shells that reveal sweet and juicy meat that isn't as full or flavorful as hard-shell meat is later in the fall. Eaten in the rough, summer lobsters can be disappointing, but the tender meat is perfect for lobster rolls. Chauncey Creek is one of the few places in Maine that puts lobster on a hamburger bun. "Hot dog rolls are for hot dogs," says Spinney. The open-air spot, which has some indoor seating, too, doesn't toast the bun. "The meat gets tossed with Miracle Whip and spices, that's all," he says. The recipe comes from Claire Spinney, Zach's grandmother. "She's made about a million lobster rolls," he says.

Spinney buys lobsters from local wholesalers, who offer them live, packed in plastic crates, and stored in big green tanks. "Thousands of pounds in a weekend," he says. "No fishermen or single co-op could keep up with that." For the rolls he uses one-armed cull lobsters or buys tail and claw meat from local companies who pick their own. "We go through so much meat, we could never pick it all ourselves."

The restauranteur isn't too fussy about cooking lobsters. "The lobsters on the bottom boil and the ones on the top steam," he says. "But they all come out just right." Heavy-duty swimming pool pumps pull water right out of the creek and into the cauldrons. Lobsters are salty and the seawater is just as salty. "I've tried boiling lobsters in plain tap water with sea salt added and it just isn't the same," he says.

Chauncey Creek has been in his family since the late '30s. Spinney's great-grandfather, Herb Witham, built the pier to stack traps and sell gas and oil to fishermen; then he started selling lobster meat to the locals. He passed the business to Zach's grandfather, George Spinney. Zach's father, Ron, had been a fisherman and took over in 1984. Now 60, Ron owns hunting land in Colorado and is ready to let Zach take over. Zach plans to teach the business to his 18-month-old son, Clayton. "My boy would be fifth generation," he says. This sort of thing matters on the coast of Maine.

Zach grew up on Gerrish Island, across the creek from the restaurant. He hauled traps with a local man for a few years but prefers the restaurant business. "This is way better than fishing," he says. "More waitresses."

In the height of the season, Chauncey Creek sells 100 to 150 lobster rolls a day. The roll has five ounces of meat, and a side of ruffled potato chips and pickles. The cost is $16, less than at many places, but lobster is never cheap.

This spring lobsters were $14 a pound right off the boat, the highest prices ever. "This year it got so cold so quick and stayed cold for a long time," says Spinney. "[The lobsters] moved right out and stayed offshore for a long time. But now they're coming back in."

The seafood spot offers customers an unusual service. You can bring your own beer, or anything else, for that matter. "Bring a keg down," says the generous host. "We'll keep it cold for you."

The 10 Best Lobster Shacks in Maine--By Peter John Lindberg, July 2002

Located at: www.travelandleisure.com

BEST RIVERSIDE LOBSTER SHACK

Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier, Kittery Point

Just a short drive off Route 1, yet eons away from Kittery's outlet-mall madness, Chauncey Creek has lured the faithful since 1948 while blissfully remaining off the maps of northbound tourists. No ocean views here—just a quiet tidal river amid a thick spruce forest. The policy is bring-your-own-everything: regulars show up with coolers full of beer, wine, salad, foie gras, you name it. Chauncey Creek supplies the lobster; there's also a raw bar with Malpeque oysters and cherrystones from Prince Edward Island. Choose your own lobster from the tank, commandeer a brightly colored picnic table on the dock (or, if it's a buggy evening, on the screened deck), and wait for your order while the river drifts by.

In Maine, Lobster Heaven--By Roy Furchgott, August 27, 2000-Page EO4
Located at: www.washingtonpost.com

Sure, the oceanic panorama from the Maine cliff house was spectacular, and yeah, visiting our friends was delightful, and of course the Nubble Lighthouse, just down the beach, was charming, and blah, blah, blah.

What was really on my mind during a trip to the southern coast of Maine was lobster.

Our initial forays to local restaurants were satisfactory, but we found lobster heaven at an off-the-beaten-track creek at a little-advertised, poorly marked restaurant, the Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier in Kittery Point.
After winding down Route 103 past homes alternately attractive and unsightly, we turned onto Chauncey Creek Road and pulled up to a group of parking attendants (locals had complained that diners were parking on their lawns). We trod down a series of ramps to a picturesque pier on a still waterway. To the left was the barn-red shack that is the lobster pound, where creek water is piped into tanks that hold the day's catch--lobsters from 1 1/4 to four pounds, awaiting the trip to the boiler.

Ahead were brightly painted picnic tables, some under cover, some under open sky. We took a fire-engine red table next to the water and beneath a tent. A Boston whaler neared the tent, docked, and a family, including their black dog, stepped onto the pier for a meal.

The Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier is a no-frills affair. Diners bring their own side dishes, alcoholic beverages and table decor. Neighboring picnic tables were dressed with tablecloths, a vase with flowers, candles. Some brought paper plates, more elegant than the cardboard trays the lobsters are served on.

"Some people come down with lace tablecloths, candelabras, they bring their crystal," says Ron Spinney, great-nephew of Herb Witham, who founded the restaurant in 1948, and co-owner with his wife, Jean. "We keep it simple. If you want it fancy, you can do it."

The Pier did provide real cloth napkins, but you'll probably want to take extra paper towels anyway--lobsters are messy. It also supplies nutcrackers for working the claws and plastic picks for digging out those stubborn morsels.

The Pier's lobsters are prepared only one way: boiled in sea water. No doctoring them with sauces or stuffing them with crab. There is no need to. Ours were rich, sweet and packed with roe. We also had steamed shrimp and mussels in wine and minced garlic, which were grit-free and tasty. The clam chowder was creamy but not overly viscous, with plenty of flavorful clams. We were too stuffed to try the steamed clams or one of the most popular offerings, the lobster roll, which is lobster meat on a bun with mayonnaise or dressing. "It's lazy man's lobster," says Spinney. "We sell 5,000 or 6,000 per season."

There's a bit of a ritual to ordering. After securing a table, note the number on the front, then go to the lobster pound to pick out your lobsters, place your order and report your table number. The fellow taking our order removed the rubber claw restraint from one of our lobsters and enticed it to clutch the ticket with its freed claw. "That's how the cooks keep them separate in the kitchen," Spinney says.

The management's only request is that customers don't tote the food and drinks it sells, such as potato chips, cole slaw, potato salad, soft drinks, juice and water. Although one employee bakes fresh blueberry and apple pies, Spinney says to feel free to bring a favorite dessert.

To reach the Pier, take I-95 north to Exit 2; go around the Kittery traffic circle until you come to Route 236 south, which runs into Route 103. Follow the road 4.5 miles, take a right on Chauncey Creek Road. The restaurant is open Mother's Day to Columbus Day, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. before Labor Day, to 7 p.m. after; in October, it closes weekdays. In September, the price of lobster drops from $ 9.99 per pound to $ 6.99 for a 1 1/4-pound lobster and $ 7.99 for 1 1/2 pounds--but expect the soft-shell kind.

Roadside Eats--By Nolan Gawron, The Weekly Dig - June 2004