For the fifth Lobster Rumble, hosted by email publication TastingTable.com, guests cast their votes for their favorite lobster roll via an interactive voting wall. The 20- by 10-foot wall, produced by the event's production partner, Eleventh Street Workshop, contained a slot for each of the 23 contenders through which guests placed their votes. The interactive experience was a move away from the N.F.C.-enabled voting devices used in past years.
The event, which took place June 5 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, has seen a 90 percent success rate in the voting process since its inaugural year, regardless of the voting method. The Lobster Rumble's 2,000 guests voted Thames Street Oyster House in Baltimore as fan favorite; the editors' pick went to Robert's Maine Grill in Kittery, Maine. Ten percent of the ticket sales benefited Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign.
Due to the popularity of the New York event, the Lobster Rumble is expanding to Los Angeles for the second year on August 1.
