It’s well worth the short drive or train ride up to Lynn for a lobster-roll lunch at Nightshade Noodle Bar. Available on the summer-seasonal, lunchtime-only Nightshade Clam Shack menu, the Lemongrass Lobster Roll effectively ends the mayo-or-butter lobster roll debate with a rich and fragrant sauce that mixes eggy aioli, European butter, and bright lemongrass with plump lobster meat pieces. Served in a cushy toasted brioche bun with a side of shrimp chips, Nightshade’s lobster roll is a unique and crave-worthy riff on the beachy summer takeout staple—and conveniently, the takeout-friendly restaurant is just a short jaunt from a picnic on Nahant Bay.

There’s a lot that sets apart the lobster roll at Eventide Fenway from other local lobster rolls. First of all, it originated in Portland, Maine, at Eventide Oyster Co. Then there are the savory chives and, of course, the nutty brown butter sauce that coats the succulent seafood. But the main attraction about this famous food is the bao-style bun in which it is served, steamed to fluffy softness rather than griddled, New England-style crispness. Boston’s version even has something on the original: You can order a larger Eventide Brown Butter Lobster Roll at the Fenway location compared with the small-plate version in Maine.

A fine-dining restaurant group’s take on a North Shore-style snack shack, Cusser’s elevates fried seafood, rolls, and roast beef sandwiches (if you know, you know). At locations in the Back Bay and Time Out Market, Lobster Rolls are distinguished by well-seasoned sauces: herby tarragon mayo or sultry red wine butter. The golden brown, split-top roll leaves your fingers deliciously glistening with butter. Order to-go, or dine in at the Back Bay bar to sample exciting, experimental cocktails by bartender Todd Maul, who’s at Cusser’s every Wednesday through Saturday night.

A Boston landmark since 1925, family-owned fishing company James Hook has a takeout restaurant with a relaxing patio amid the office towers of the Financial District and the Seaport. Stay outside and skip the typical line of folks inside the seafood shop by ordering directly from the on-site food truck, where you can get cold lobster rolls in two sizes. Regular and large are both packed with super-fresh seafood and no other filler: When the lobster is this fresh and flavorful, it doesn’t need any additions. Make it a meal with creamy chowder, cold beer, and more. The retail store offers more takeout options, as well as daily catch to bring home—including a tank of lively lobsters awaiting their fate.

The oyster bar inside downtown Boston’s food hall High Street Place takes inspo from the Gulf Coast as well as the Atlantic shoreline, with a Shrimp Po’boy on the menu along with Lobster Rolls both hot and cold. We’re concerned with the latter at the moment—and you should be, too: Chef Tiffani Faison’s lobster rolls at Dive Bar are a couple of instant classics. Both served on thick, buttery, griddled brioche rolls, the hot lobster roll features a rich and savory lobster-enhanced brown butter; and the cold version here has just the right crunch from diced celery and a delicious lemon-chive mayo.

Updated by Jacqueline Cain