With warm weather making guest appearances off and on lately, I’ve had lobster rolls on the brain and we are lucky to have more than one option for those in the Financial District. A few weeks ago I attended the Village Voice’s Choice Eats event and eating shrimp rolls from Luke’s Lobster and Red Hook Lobster Pound reminded me that these things are delicious and also, why have I not written about the one from Luke’s on this on the site yet? Also a fact: Luke’s Lobster’s shrimp roll is the only non-soup item on the menu for less than $10.

Even if you get the roll in a combo with a bag of chips and soda, it’s still only $10, but I decided to stick with just the shrimp roll. I happened to eat here on a nice day and took my shrimp roll across the street where I could pretend that I wasn’t surrounded by large buildings and concrete. Like the other two roll options, there’s the standard buttered and toasted roll with a swipe of mayo on the inside. Otherwise, there was a pile of chilled sweet shrimp with a touch of seasoning and nothing else. Delicious. I could eat one of these every day for lunch if I didn’t think about things such as cholesterol.

If you want to eat at Luke’s but don’t have the cash to shell out for a lobster roll, this will do you right.

Luke’s Lobster, 26 S. William St. (nr. Broad), (212) 747-1700, on the Web

Summer is the ideal time to enjoy a lobster (or shrimp or crab) roll from Luke’s Lobster on S. William (at Broad) although really you can’t go wrong with one in the colder months either. No matter how much we try to deny it, freezing cold is on its way and with that comes soup weather. A little bit lost amid all of the seafood stuffed into hot dog rolls is the chowder and bisque section of Luke’s’ menu. It’s a good way to enjoy some seafood without breaking your lunch budget.

I would imagine the first complaint that’s going to be lodged against the chowders is the relatively small amount you get for the price. As my co-luncher pointed out though, it’s hard to feel ripped off when you’re paying the same amount as at places like Hale & Hearty where I would never order something like chowder anyway.

We got clam ($7) and seafood ($8) varieties. They usually have a third soup of the day but if you’re in the mood for chowder either of these will fulfill your craving.

The clam version was brimming with pieces of seafood along with chunks of potato in a thin, but not too thin broth. Throw in a few oyster crackers that come with and you have yourself a nice light lunch because the chowder for me was more filling than more watery soups.

If you like a little variety then the seafood chowder might be a better bet. It’s $1 more but you’re getting baby shrimp, fish and lobster in there. I spotted at least two large pieces of claw meat but the main component was shrimp which I was OK with.

Once the weather gets nasty it’s going to be hard to choose between chowder and a shrimp roll at Luke’s if I’m trying to stay within the ML budget.

Luke’s Lobster, 26 S. William St. (at Broad), (212) 747-1700

It’s not every day that we fully endorse shelling out $17 (plus tax) for a lunch that may or may not fill you up, but if you like seafood-filled buttered hot dog buns at all you’re going to want to check out Luke’s Lobster. The shop opened on S. William St. (btw. Hanover Sq. & Broad) on Friday, joining two other locations in the city and the just-launched truck. Brian had absolutely raved about the lunch he had when the truck stopped in midtown, so I was excited.

There was a line when I got there for a later lunch but it had mostly died down by 2 p.m. It helped that they have a lobster roll express window where they only sell that one item. For everything else you have to step inside the small nautical themed shop, and that’s what me and a co-luncher did. Plenty of butter and seafood-straight ahead…

The first thing I noticed was that it smelled of butter and little else inside. (This is not a complaint). And the reason for this smell is the people putting the sandwiches together by pressing and crisping buttered hot dog buns in the open kitchen. They should really start selling butter-scented candles or air freshener.

There is a counter along one wall with stools, and one large table. Thankfully there’s also a plaza with plenty of seating across the street for when the weather’s nice.

I placed an order for a lobster roll combo ($17) that included a bag of Miss Vickie’s chips, half of a dill pickle and a Maine Root soda. You can get the same combo with shrimp ($10) or crab ($12) rolls. My co-luncher went with the crab roll so we could try two different things. They also have chowder and bisque with or without bread bowls, and a couple of mix-and-match combos including something called the Noah’s Ark for $40 if you’re into sharing…or pigging out at lunch.

First, a kudos to Luke’s for not buttering the outside of the roll after toasting it. Both my hands and camera thank you. Second, I would eat this lobster roll every day if my heart and wallet could take it. I’m thinking the slightly cheaper shrimp roll is going to be in my stomach soon enough. There was just a hint of mayo, the roll was absolutely stuffed with lobster, including a ton of claw meat, and not much else except celery salt to mess with the flavor of the seafood.

The crab roll was good but for me didn’t top the lobster. It followed the same principle of letting the crustacean shine but seemed to have a bit more mayo than the lobster roll. They were both good, but I think it’s a preference thing. And just look at that delicious claw above.

I haven’t eaten at the nearby Urban Lobster Shack on Stone St. but I’m thinking a revisit is going to be in order soon for comparison, even though their rolls are a different breed. Now if only the Red Hook Lobster Pound truck would start coming down here regularly so I could get my hands on that shrimp roll Brownie was raving about…

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• There is a ton of seafood in their rolls.
• It makes me feel like I’m on a boat while at lunch.
• I’m a mayo hater and they use it sparingly.
• The butter smell inside makes me happy.

THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• No way I could afford to eat here very often.
• I’m a big eater and I’d rather go get more food for my money.
• The smell of celery salt lingers on my hands.

Luke’s Lobster, 26 S. William St. (btw. Hanover Sq. & Broad), (212) 747-1700

I really think more lunch places should open on a Friday when you maybe have a little more leeway to wait in massive lines for things like Shack Burgers or lobster rolls. Luke’s Lobster opens the doors today at 10:30 a.m. on S. William St. (btw. Hanover Sq. & Broad). It sounds like there’s plenty of indoor seating, and the genius idea of a lobster roll express window for those who don’t want to leave the balmy heat or open a door. It might be best to block out a little more time for lunch today because you know the Wall St. crowd is going to be all over this.

They don’t have a specific menu for the FiDi location on the Web site yet, but the prices at all of the NYC locations seem to be the same (and one bummer is that sales tax applies unlike at the truck). I wonder if anyone ever gets the Noah’s Ark and doesn’t share it with anyone? Their lobster roll won a five-way showdown so this may be one lunch worth venturing over $10 for more than once.

A post in the forums alerted me that a sign had gone up on the forthcoming location of Luke’s Lobster on S. William St. (btw. Hanover Sq. and Broad). They were painting when I walked by, so that must mean that lobster rolls are coming soon, right? Hopefully we’ll get a preview of the goods if their new truck makes its way down (hint, hint).