Fin – Your Fishmonger – Guilderland, NY

I’m a big fan of Fin – Your Fishmonger, a seafood purveyor that opened at the end of 2012 right in the middle of my commute between work and home and, conveniently, a hop, skip, and jump away from my gym, Vent Fitness. It turns out that protein sources don’t get much better than seafood, so for someone with specific fitness goals, it’s important to intake high quality protein. I’ve tried a number of fresh fish and shrimp from Fin and everything has been great and more-or-less very healthful.

Recently, on facebook, Fin announced they hired a chef and that they were working on some takeout dishes. From my early conversations with Dora (one of the co-owners), I knew this was something that was in the works for a while. The name of the chef they hired, Katie, sounded really familiar, but it took a conversation with Cassie, who worked with Katie in the past, to realize who she was.

The first week Katie was there, Fin had a little social event where they invited in the public as a focus group to hone in on Katie’s best lobster roll recipe. I didn’t make it over to that, but the winning combination, the brown butter vinaigrette lobster roll, certainly sounded amazing to me.

So one day, after a rigorous FocusMaster workout, I decided to skip my usual post-workout salad and pop into Fin for a lobster roll. For $15, you get a loaded lobster roll with a side of homemade potato salad, macaroni salad, or cole slaw. It seems like a lot of money, but lobster is a luxury food, and, to put it in perspective, one of these badboys scantly filled with lobster slathered in mayonnaise on a factory-made roll can run you over $20 at a glorified hot dog cart out in Boston.

Up until a few hours ago, there was no seating at Fin. Well, there was seating, but it was in your car. Now, according to the email I got from them last night, there are a couple of cafe tables inside. The lobster roll actually carries pretty well, so taking it to go is another option.

I took the quick 5 minute drive home and tore into mine there.

The first thing you’ll note is that the lobster roll is pretty loaded. Not only is the roll (from Bountiful Bread) hearty, but it’s literally bursting with lobster.

The lobster pieces are fresh, sweet, juicy, and well seasoned. The brown butter vinaigrette is flavorful and adds some depth and richness to each bite. The whole thing is decadent and delicious. If there’s one flaw, it’s that some more acid in the vinaigrette could bring some brightness to help round it out.

That’s where the cole slaw comes in.

The cole slaw has a good amount of vinegar and is also heavily spiced. As far as cole slaws go, it’s top notch. I do wish there was a little more, especially since the container had a substantial amount of liquid.

It was a bit of a splurge financially and maybe a little rich as far as the calories go, but it’s totally worth it.