Time was this humble thin long strip (think fried clam) of a restaurant was a failed French establishment, where seldom a diner was seen. We know the story well, because we frequently visited friends in the building. Then a transformation into a lobster bar—which while mildly popular was not exactly a household name, given the profusion of glossy seafood shacks around town. We noted the price of a humble lobster roll: astronomical.

How to become famous by being infamous? Get sued by your former boss for theft of her intellectual property, i.e. recipes. For those who have ever eaten seafood in New England—in particular, at the many lobster shacks of Maine—you already know the infamous oyster is best supped here at Grand Central's legendary Oyster Bar, where the placement of checkered tablecloths has neither been patented nor led to a lawsuit. But the beloved lobster at Ed's? Save your money for a rental car, and head directly to Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster in Freeport, or to any of Maine's dozens of other humble lobster establishments to taste the authentic hereafter. However, now that Ed's has garnered publicity that not even $100,000 of public relations can buy, we expect stellar success and much dissection (or is that vivisection?) of these lobsters.