Blessed Bisque

waiting two hours to eat a $13.95 lobster pound lobster roll at the brooklyn flea was the first thing my husband and i did when we dropped our kids at the camp bus in july. it's the kind of time-wasting activity that having kids in tow keeps you from doing; but actually, i have to say it was worth it. there's nothing like a perfectly made lobster roll, and i've always been more partial to lobster cooked piecemeal than fresh from the pot.

that's why i experience something akin to religious ecstasy going into the lobster place, where the blast of fresh fish evoked childhood memories of the piers at fermin's point, calif. three large black tureens hold piping hot seafood soups. for $5 (medium), you get two-and-a-half ladles of a heavenly amalgam of lobster, sherry, cream and lots of butter. however, it would have been nice to have at least one big chunk of lobster, not just the pulverized pieces.

while in this spic and span church of seafood, presided over by white-coated attendants, i noticed a tiny window at the back (the "shack") where you can actually get a lobster roll without waiting two hours. it was $16.95, but, hey, time is money. -- the lobster place 75 ninth ave. (in chelsea market) 212-255-5672

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