If you followed our Pinterest board, you know that we went on an epic Lobster Roll crawl last week when we attended the Boston Wine Expo. Well, actually our stomachs only made it to three places, Legal Seafoods, Post 390 and B&G Oysters. We REALLY wanted to make it to Neptune Oyster (which we were told the lobster was dressed in butter not mayo and was AMAZING…) but we ran out of time and space in our stomachs.

How did the rolls stack up? Two votes for B&G Oyster’s and one for Post 390. Each of the rolls featured a typical mayo-dressing with finely minced celery and parsley—the deciding factor was, yes, the roll. Although Legal was the largest of the trio, it lost points for a less than soft, freshy roll. Our voter for Post 390 loved their roll which was traditional hot dog bun style. The twist: the sides of the roll were sliced off and the bun was griddled in butter. Yum! @girlinthevalley and I had enjoyed B&G Oyster on our last trip to Boston and were happy to revisit. Their lobster filling is super-lemony and although this was the smallest roll of the bunch, and the most expensive, we picked it as the winner.

Check out our photos on our Pinterest board.

Some other foodie highlights of the trip: dinner at Bistro Du Midi (elegant brasserie), No. 9 Park on Beacon Hill (elegant and pricey fine dining by Barbara Lynch), and Hungry Mother (southern ingerdients, French technique, Boston accent) in Cambridge.  All highly recommended.

We found that there were more food purveyors this year at the Expo than years past. One of our fave noshes was the Pumpkin Hummus from Wilson Farm, a working farm in Lexington, MA since 1884. We think this unusual version would make a great addition to your Super Bowl spread, accompanied by toasted pita triangles and blanched winter veggies.

Wilson Farm Pumpkin Hummus

Makes about five cups

2 cups roasted pumpkin or squash puree
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained
1 carrot, diced
1 medium onion, diced
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
¼ tsp. Garam masala
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. pomegranate syrup (available at Trader Joes’s, Whole Foods and other specialty grocers)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic until tender and put aside. Put pumpkin seeds into a food processor and grind until minced. Add remaining ingredients (including onion and carrot) and puree until mixed evenly. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.