I was a little tired when I finally reached the border. I had left Anchorage, Alaska two weeks before headed for the Great North Woods of Maine and the small town of Presque Isle. I was almost there.
I love visiting Canada and it had been a grand adventure. My strategy of taking the back roads whenever possible had paid off with unsurpassed scenery and chance meetings with strangers who felt like friends. But now I was road tired and close.

The border crossing was not a busy one. It occupied a two lane country highway with little to no traffic. It was a sunny summer day as I pulled up to the uniformed man standing dead center in the highway.
He was tall, relaxed and friendly. I was nervous. I don’t know why but border crossings always make me nervous. I’d make such a lousy drug mule.
I killed the engine of my big diesel truck/camper rig and handed out the passports for myself and my travel companion. My mind raced through the contents of my camper's refrigerator and pantry, then my small liquor stash. There are rules regarding fruits, vegetables and liquor going across the border. I was nursing an irrational fear that I had inadvertently broken one or more of those rules and they would not let me back in to my own country. Don’t ask, it just always happens. I’m a fruitcake at borders.
The border guard casually perused our official documents and asked, “Where you headed”?.
“Presque Isle”, I answered.
“Business or pleasure”?
“Business,” I answered. “I’m a nurse and I’ll be working at the hospital there”.
Be cool. Play along. Don’t give him any reason to suspect you may have illicit banana’s.
“Aaahhh” Officer Friendly said. My wife’s a nurse. Have you ever been to Presque Isle?
“Nope”.
I knew I should have eaten those darn things for breakfast. And I'm sure I've left them in plain view.
“Nice little town. Where in the hospital will you be working”?
“The emergency room”.
This is going well.
“Well you don’t have to worry about treating any gunshots in that town, it’s pretty quiet”.
And that started the conversation that kept me there for the next 20 minutes. Me parked on the highway with my irrational fear, chatting out the window. Officer Friendly giving me the run down on the small Maine town that was my destination, probably just happy to have someone to talk to at this lonely crossing.
I turned the conversation to the subject of my most pressing question.
“Where”, I asked him, “is the best restaurant to get good lobster”.
His face lit up and he grew more animated. I could tell this man loved his “lobstuh”. “You don’t want to go to a restaurant. They charge too much. You should go to Sleepers.” And with that he detailed the directions to a small grocery store in the nearby town of Caribou, a town often mentioned in the winter on the weather channel with the phrase “and the coldest spot in the nation today” attached to it.
I planned to be in Maine for 3 months and my goal was to eat as much lobster as I could. So, price was a consideration. But so was quality. Officer Friendly assured me Sleepers was the place all the locals go for "lobstuh".
I drove directly there. The directions were accurate and easily negotiated. Once inside, the lobster were located in the back of the store past narrow isles stacked high with food. The big tank was chock full of crustaceans of a variety of sizes. The pricing was quite reasonable. I suppressed my natural tendency to feel bad for animals I am about to consume.
The helpful young man behind the counter asked what size I wanted. I went for the four pounder just because I could. I was planning on eating myself into lobster oblivion. Out of the tank and into the steamer pot it went. And I was left to browse the store while I tried not to drool.
Browsing Sleepers was a mini adventure in itself. It’s a family owned grocery store with a little bit of everything on the shelves. You could buy groceries, carhartts, tee shirts, tools or a dress. I really enjoyed browsing the shoes on display down a flight of wooden steps deep in the basement.
And the fresh fish and seafood were also very inviting. There were shrink wrapped packages of scallops, cod, and pickering among others. Being a product of the Gulf Coast States, some of that stuff was new territory for me. But I knew before I left Maine, I wanted to try it all.
Soon I was on my way back to my camper with brown paper sacks full of hot, juicy lobster and high expectations. I had not yet even found a place to stay yet here I was in the parking lot of a small grocery store ready to enjoy my first feast of lobster.
I was not disappointed. I warmed some butter, uncapped a cold beer and tore into some of the best lobster I’ve ever eaten. It was perfectly cooked, firm textured and melt in your mouth delicious. And the four pounder was almost more than I could handle. It was a perfect introduction to Maine lobster as it was meant to be enjoyed. Large bites, dripping with butter and chased by cold brew. I left a pretty clean shell. I'm sure I even ate parts I wasn’t supposed to. It was heaven.
I made many more trip’s to Sleeper’s during my stay in Northern Maine. I eventually found a cozy small cabin to rent near the Aroostook River and many great meals were enjoyed on it's rustic table. By the time my family was able to visit, I had become quite the lobster connoisseur, coming to favor the smaller lobsters instead of the big boy I first sampled. I found the meat in the smaller lobsters to be more delicate and flavorful and the shell much easier to negotiate. It was also well paired with the flavorful potatoes locally grown in Aroostook County.
Thanks Officer Friendly.
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Old Fashioned Lobster Stew

Ingredients:
2 Maine lobster, 2 lbs each
8 tablespoons butter
2 quarts half-and-half cream
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Boil the lobster for about 14 minutes in plain unseasoned water.
2. Remove the lobster onto a large platter and allow to cool. Save the juice that drips onto the platter.
3. Pick the shell and cut lobster tail and claw meat into chunks.
4. The green stuff inside the shell is tomalley and the orange is roe. You may add this or not per your taste. Personally I like it.
5. Melt butter in a deep skillet or heavy sauce pan (big iron pot works great) and add lobster, sauté for 2 minutes on low heat.
6. Add Half & Half and the leftover juices and bring to barely a bubble. You don’t want to let it boil.
7. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes stirring often.

And it’s ready to eat. Simple. Tasty. And it’s even better the second day after a little overnighter in the fridge.
Enjoy.

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