On a frigid, gray weekend in New York City I found a ray of sunshine.

In the past when lobster was on my mind, we would get in the car and trek to upstate Connecticut.

Our last two attempts failed because the traffic turned the trip into a 6 hour round trip journey.

I decided to do a deep dive into more geographically desirable Maine lobster.

Who knew that an amazing lobster restaurant was a mere 20 minute drive away.

Let me introduce you to Jack’s Lobster Shack in Edgewater, New Jersey literally 5 minutes from the first exit off of the George Washington Bridge.

Its an affordable, appropriately thematic small restaurant in the middle of an unassuming block right on River Road.

Fresh live lobsters are hanging out in the state of the art salt water tank as you walk in.

The employees are welcoming and we thoroughly enjoyed our attentive server, Roy.

The place was half full so we settled in and perused the appealing menu.

We kicked things off with delicious fresh, sweet, large steamers (1 dozen $14).

We debated ordering the 11/2 pound Maine lobster dinner with corn and cole slaw ($46), the Truffle Lobster Mac & Cheese ($19), Lobster Grilled Cheese ($17) or the Connecticut style Warm Lobster Roll Platter ($27).

We both selected the warm Lobster Roll Platter and it was outstanding, the roll brimming with huge chunks of incredibly sweet, plump, tasty Maine lobster meat.

The accompanying cole slaw was delish and I am a cole slaw maven. You can choose homemade chips which were crisp and delectable or a house salad with balsamic dressing.

And, now for something entirely different, our table neighbors ordered the Angry Lobster, a 2lb. Maine lobster broiled with tomato sauce, garlic and jalapeño peppers with fettuccine ($63).

I was very impressed with all the selections.

Even dessert is noteworthy…who doesn’t like pie.

Roy highly recommended the sweet treats from Little Pie Company, in particular the Walnut, Sour Cream, Apple pie with whipped cream and a side of vanilla ice cream ($10).

The pie arrived warm with a flaky, well done crust. At first I was uncertain about the pie combo as the Apple, Key Lime, Pecan and Mississippi Mud all sounded like better bets, but the pie was outrageous as Roy had predicted.

Jack’s Lobster Shack has been around since 2015 and it is so worth the short trip from NYC.

I cannot wait to return and tackle the lobster platter which is half price all day Monday through Thursday.

I am jacked up about Jack’s Lobster Shack.

Jack’s Lobster Shack 1040 River Road Edgewater, New Jersey. Open Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-9:30pm. Street and lot parking.