Look up “quintessential New England summer food” in the dictionary and there should be a picture of an ice-cold fresh-shucked New England lobster roll.

You know the top spots: The long-time local-owned clam shack on your local waterfront. The upscale city spot that charges a bit extra but delivers. The seafood restaurants with world name recognition. You can count on them to deliver.

But there are some other special locales to scarf down a fantastic lobster roll. Here are some perhaps surprising spots to savor that New England classic.

At a landmark: We’re talking beloved Fenway Park. For the most part, I’m anti “other types of food” at the ballpark. Chowder at a Sox game? Nah. I’m all about the classics: Kettle corn, peanuts, Hoodsies and of course, Fenway Franks.

So it was a delicious surprise when, while at a recent game, I opted to tuck into a Luke’s Lobster lobster roll.

Perfection. It’s a buttery roll stuffed full with sweet, fresh and meaty lobster seasoned with a tiny bit of mayo and a few secret spices Luke won’t divulge. They’re sublime.

And lobster rolls pair perfectly with a Red Sox game. Sure, a roll (with a bag of chips) will cost you $38 at the game. But hey: with a fountain lemonade ringing in at $10.50 at Fenway, that feels like a value.

Behind the barn: The big red barn at the fork of Sandwich and River Streets in the Chiltonville section of Plymouth has been many things over the years. Carpentry center, penny candy stop, farm stand,  and ice cream spot are just a few of its iterations, and always under the same family, the Bramhalls.

This generation of Bramhalls have taken that classic red barn and ramped it up to a must visit for their out-of-this-world lobster rolls.

Bramhall’s butters and toasts a fresh roll and then fills it with super fresh shucked meat (so fresh, they can name the lobsterman/woman who dropped them off that very morning). They leave the seasonings to you, giving you a little mayo, salt and pepper to make your own choice. It works. The fresh sweet lobster meat is – as it should be – the star.

You’ll dine at simple picnic tables under shade trees  (or down the street looking out over the beach and ocean). Pro tip: follow it with one of Sally’s fresh and made on site ice cream sandwiches. www.bramhallscountrystore.com

Off a truck: When it come to serving fresh, local and perfect lobster rolls, the Lobsta Love Truck, created and operated by award-winning chef Stephen Coe (chefstephencoe.com) – who “Beat Bobby Flay” and is in development for his own food series – is a sure thing.

Lobsta Love pops up all over – city streets, small town beer gardens, fundraisers and more. You might spot it pulled into a firehouse: Coe and Lobsta Love believe in serving those who serve us.

Coe, who calls the South Shore home and is a believer in shopping local, fresh and sustainable, has direct links to lobster boats right on the docks of the South Shore.

When the boats pull in, Coe and his team pick up their lobsters, cook them and let them sit and chill for a day before mixing in his own secret dashes of this and that – enough to amp up flavor but let the fresh, cold lobster meat shine through.

Find them and dig in.

BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–Massachusetts residents and businesses would secure stronger protections if their property and casualty insurance carriers end up going bankrupt, under a bill gaining late-session momentum on Beacon Hill.

Without debate, the House last week quietly passed a bill (H 4772) that aims to update parameters for an insurance social safety net fund, created by the Legislature in 1970, and raise the caps on property and casualty claims that have not been revised in decades. The Senate sent the redrafted bill, originally sponsored by Rep. Daniel Cahill, to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday.

The bill would ensure that the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund aligns with a framework promoted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2009, said Barbara Law, who administers MIIF and is the CEO of Guaranty Fund Management Services. The bill also clarifies that MIIF covers cybersecurity insurance claims.

“The Massachusetts version of the statute was one of the oldest in the country — it has not been updated from time to time over the years,” Law told the News Service. “So there are a lot of opportunities to bring current best practices from other states to Massachusetts, plus an opportunity to increase the cap for coverages. So individuals, particularly on the property side, we would be able to ensure that there was enough coverage allowed by the law so they would have a greater likelihood of having the entirety of their claims covered.”

Weather-related events in recent years have caused property insurance insolvencies in Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina, she said.

“We wanted to be prepared if those insolvencies started to have a greater effect on Massachusetts, and we also wanted to make sure that if we start to experience that type of weather up here, that we were prepared,” Law said. “So it really is about preparedness. We wanted to make sure that our law was in shape to make sure that it afforded enough coverage for the residents in Massachusetts.”

The bill would boost the existing claims cap, such as for car accidents and environmental cases, from $300,000 to $500,000, a level already enacted in Connecticut and Rhode Island, according to testimony Law sent to the Financial Services Committee co-chairs last fall. The new limit would not apply to workers’ compensation claims, which do not have a cap and are paid by the fund for life, Law said.

Aiming to provide a safety net for Massachusetts home and property owners, the bill also proposes a $1 million cap for residential or commercial property, a policy that Law said was implemented in California after a wildfire caused an insurer to go bankrupt.

“We do recognize that Massachusetts has high reconstruction values for property, so we recommend a $1 million limit for property claims just to ensure that we keep pace with the time,” she said.

All insurance companies that are licensed to provide property and casualty coverage in the commonwealth are members of MIIF, and they contribute to the fund to help pay out claims, according to GFMS.

The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents supports the bill, particularly the special real property cap provision due to the “increased severity and frequency of these claims,” said CEO Nick Fyntrilakis. In written testimony, Fyntrilakis warned Massachusetts is “currently disadvantaged compared to other states” that have embraced updated insurance policies.

“This bill would enhance benefits to Massachusetts residents affected by insurer insolvencies and reduce costs to the property and casualty insurance guaranty fund framework in the Commonwealth with no tax increases or increased appropriations if enacted,” Fyntrilakis said. He added, “These updates are much-needed and, in some instances, long-overdue.”

Law said MIIF, which is regulated by the Division of Insurance, has paid roughly half a billion dollars in claims to policyholders throughout its history when small and large insurance companies were insolvent. Workers’ compensation claims have largely driven activity in the fund, though Law said MIIF has also seen bursts of activity tied to insolvencies from asbestos-related claims in the late ’80s and early ’90s and the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I went deep sea fishing for the first time last week while on vacation. I have a little more respect for people who love to fish now. I didn’t understand the love of it, but now I appreciate the sport. There is a lot more finesse to fishing than I thought.

Where and what was Massachusetts biggest fish ever caught? For the purpose of this post, we are talking about freshwater fish.

There are two main lakes in the Berkshire County’s biggest city. Lake Onota and Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield are two busy spots when it comes to fishing whether it be summer or winter.

The photo above is courtesy of Joshua Christman on Facebook from Pittsfield’s CARP Palooza on June 15, 2024 on Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield and Lanesborough.

A man shows a northern pike caught in Lake Onota earlier this year. Note: this is not the actual biggest fish caught.

Two 45-inch northern pikes both caught in Lake Onota, according to mass.gov

Ashley DePaoli in 2017 (45.5 inches Lake Onota)

Craig Strong in 2021 (45.5 inches Lake Onota)

A 46 pound carp measuring 42 inches was caught in 2012 in Quinsigamond Lake in Shrewsbury MA.

A 35 pound Northern Pike measuring 47 inches was caught on Quacumquasit Pond in Brookfield, MA back in 1988.

A 27 pound Tiger Muskellunge measuring 46 inches was caught in Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield, MA in 2001.