Red's Eats
Encyclopedia
Red's Eats is a take-out
restaurant
located on U.S. Route 1
in Wiscasset, Maine. It is one of the most well-known and most written about restaurants in the state.
. It moved to its present location at the intersection of Water Street and Main Street in Wiscasset in 1954. It is open from mid-April to mid-October. In addition to its signature lobster roll
s, Red's serves hamburger
s, french fries
, hot dog
s, and a chicken sandwich
. The lobster rolls were priced at $15 as of 2002.
Red's is best known for its lobster rolls and fried clams
. The building is an actual lobster shack; it has been described as being about the size of a minivan. There is no inside seating; long lines are common (with wait times of an hour or more), and traffic on nearby Route 1 often exceeds 25,000 cars a day in the summer. A highway bypass in under consideration by the local community as a way of easing traffic congestion on Route 1; as an alternative to the bypass, some locals have suggested moving Red's to another location, due to the amount of congestion Red's causes in the village area of town during the tourist season.
The restaurant is considered a midcoast Maine
landmark. It has been profiled in numerous magazine and newspaper reviews, internet reviews, and television features. One of the owners of the restaurant, Debbie Cronk, co-wrote a book with Virginia Wright called Red’s Eats: World’s Best Lobster Shack.
Take-out
Take-out or takeout , carry-out , take-away , parcel , or tapau , is food purchased at a...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
located on U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...
in Wiscasset, Maine. It is one of the most well-known and most written about restaurants in the state.
History
Red's has operated since 1938, originally in Boothbay, MaineBoothbay, Maine
Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The Boothbay region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year...
. It moved to its present location at the intersection of Water Street and Main Street in Wiscasset in 1954. It is open from mid-April to mid-October. In addition to its signature lobster roll
Lobster roll
A lobster roll is a kind of sandwich filled with lobster meat. A traditional lobster roll contains the fresh cooked meat of a lobster, tossed with mayonnaise and served on a grilled hot dog bun or similar roll, so that the opening is on the top rather than on the side...
s, Red's serves hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s, french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
, hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s, and a chicken sandwich
Chicken sandwich
A chicken sandwich or chicken burger is a boneless, skinless, breast of chicken on a hamburger bun topped with condiments and trimmings. Invented by Chick-fil-A in 1964, the chicken sandwich has become a popular American food choice....
. The lobster rolls were priced at $15 as of 2002.
Red's is best known for its lobster rolls and fried clams
Fried clams
Fried clams are made by deep frying soft-shell clams that have been dipped in batter.Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England what barbecue is to the South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks . For a lighter meal, a clam roll is made by piling clams into a hot dog bun...
. The building is an actual lobster shack; it has been described as being about the size of a minivan. There is no inside seating; long lines are common (with wait times of an hour or more), and traffic on nearby Route 1 often exceeds 25,000 cars a day in the summer. A highway bypass in under consideration by the local community as a way of easing traffic congestion on Route 1; as an alternative to the bypass, some locals have suggested moving Red's to another location, due to the amount of congestion Red's causes in the village area of town during the tourist season.
The restaurant is considered a midcoast Maine
Mid Coast
The Mid Coast is a region of Maine that includes the many small coastal towns of Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Sagadahoc, and the northern coastal portion of Cumberland counties...
landmark. It has been profiled in numerous magazine and newspaper reviews, internet reviews, and television features. One of the owners of the restaurant, Debbie Cronk, co-wrote a book with Virginia Wright called Red’s Eats: World’s Best Lobster Shack.
Honors
- 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die is a book written by Patricia Schultz as a follow up book to 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.-Wikipedia pages for 1000 places:* Acadia National Park, Maine...
by Patricia Schultz - 500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late by Michael and Jane Stern (USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
) - Best Lobster in Maine (Travel + LeisureTravel + LeisureTravel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is put out by American Express Publishing Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company led by...
)
External links and further reading
- Debbie Cronk and Virginia Wright, Red's Eats: World's Best Lobster Shack, Down East Books (June 16, 2010), hardcover, 96 pages,