Ed's Lobster Bar Kiosk

Aside from the occasional seagull or sliver of gray river, you might never know that Manhattan is surrounded by water on all sides. So that’s where Ed’s Lobster Bar Kiosk comes in, an extension of Ed McFarland’s popular Soho seafood eatery, parked (literally) behind the World Financial Center. Every item on the short menu, from the corn on the cob to the clam chowder to the Peekytoe crab roll, sets out to evoke thoughts of lounging by the sea, a smear of sunscreen across your nose and the smell of Old Bay mixing with the salty air. It succeeds. One bite of Ed’s justly famous lobster roll,...

Not surprisingly, a clear, sunny day will find the umbrella-covered tables packed with nannies and their charges, financiers with their clients and visitors and their SLRs. Stroll a little further in either direction, and you’ll likely have a bench all to yourself. On that note, when it’s raining, the kiosk closes shop.

At six ounces of lobster meat, the flotilla-sized signature Ed’s roll is hard to sink, but the setting couldn’t be more pleasant, and if you like yours particularly mayonnaise-y, the small lobster roll is fresh and properly proportioned. — Betsy Andrews

Aside from the occasional seagull or sliver of gray river, you might never know that Manhattan is surrounded by water on all sides. So that’s where Ed’s Lobster Bar Kiosk comes in, an extension of...