Consider the Lobster Roll

Lobsters occupy an interesting chapter in food history.  In colonial America they were considered trash fish; and servants negotiated agreements so they wouldn't be forced to eat lobster more than twice a week (I imagine it went something like, "We can handle the grueling hours and lack of compensation; just please don't make us eat those lobsters!")

 When you think about it, this picture is actually pretty disturbing.

Then people decided, hey, these don't taste so bad after all (or that lobsters made for a great excuse to lap up melted butter); so naturally lobsters were overfished, which led to lower supplies and higher prices, i.e. the makings of the ultimate status symbol.

Now, they're coming full circle.  NY Magazine tell us that these curious crustaceans are once again in abundance and relatively inexpensive thanks to a variety of factors, including the overfishing of cod (the largest group of natural predators of young lobsters), Maine's surprisingly successful sustainability measures, and the financial meltdown of Icelandic banks (which, I know, sounds random; but for the sake of brevity, I will not go into. Check out page 2 of the article for full details).

So basically, you don't have to be an indentured servant or a Wall Street financier to eat lobsters anymore, at least in NYC.  The city is experiencing a sort of lobster revival.  Places like The Red Hook Lobster Pound drive up to Maine several times a week to get fresh lobsters, offering them at various vendors throughout the city.  Lobster rolls are popping up all over for $14-$15.  And undoubtedly the best story that's come out of this phenomenon (or perhaps, the trigger that set it off), is Dr. Claw.

That's right.  In case you haven't read about him yet, Dr. Claw is not the latest Spiderman villain but a Massachusetts native who makes lobster rolls out of his Greenpoint apartment, taking orders by text message and  (to the bewilderment of his elderly neighbors) hand delivering them in brown paper bags. (The get-up is his way of "preserving his identity." I just want to know where he found that necklace.)

So what is a lobster roll anyway? NY Magazine describes Dr. Claw's process as follows:  "Toasting a buttered, top-sliced bun, carefully selecting 'the perfect combination' of claw, knuckle, and tail meat dressed in a secret preparation, and brushing the whole thing with garlicky butter."

Oh, now I get it. I've never had a lobster roll, but it's definitely on my to-try list this summer.  Maybe I'll even make make a special trip to Greenpoint!