Growing up, the kids in the James Hook family used to entertain themselves by making their skittering wares wrestle in the back room, sometimes matching the five-pounders against a pair of three-pounders, sometimes letting loose some one-pound chix for a free-for-all. Then they turned 12 and decided they could use their lobsters for something better. Now, the family takes a select few of its little demons, boils ’em down, mixes in mayonnaise and fresh celery, and drops them into a traditional hot-dog bun to create chunky, sweet, crunchy, near-perfect lobster rolls at $8 apiece, providing quite the Cape Cod–style lunch for those in the know around the federal courthouse.

If you take your roll and soda across the bridge to the courthouse, as the hot, hot sun beats down on the cool, cool harbor, you can leave your business casual behind and imagine your next stop will be the front porch of a summer rental, instead of the office.

After all, the key to any good lobster roll is the setting. Outdoors, by the water — even if it is the harbor and not the beach — the only thing that could taste better than one lobster roll would be one more.

Available for $8 each at James Hook & Co., 15-17 Northern Avenue, in Boston. Call (617) 423-5500.