This small seafood shack is tucked back off the road on Putnam St, just past Western Ave. A couple of lobster tanks, iced beds with fish, drink coolers and picnic tables pretty much paints the whole picture. As the name suggests, the lobster are alive and kicking.

Don’t ask for a lobster roll here. You’ll get an earful from the lively counter help about how lobster meat deserves better than a hot dog bun. Instead, ask for the lobster sandwich, a specialty of this hidden neighborhood lobster pound in Cambridge. The place bucks tradition by serving the classic lobster salad on toasted and buttered scali bread—an airy, artisanal Italian loaf popular in Boston. Albeit a bit heretical, the scali adds a welcome (and frankly addictive) crunch, making you forget all about the usual split-top vessel.