by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham
My first encounter with a whole Maine lobster was in a 1950s Continental restaurant located in the rolling hills of central Pennsylvania. It was my first summer at sleep-away camp, and in this unlikely setting lobster loomed large. I quickly learned from my fellow campers (who were constantly strategizing about food – how to get it and where to stash it) that the wisest thing to do when parents came up for visitor’s day was to steer them over to the ritziest restaurant in town. There they could demonstrate their longing to nurture you by letting you order lobster, the most expensive, and therefore the best, item on the menu. Food was an obsession that summer, as it often is for homesick children. Well, when my parents came I had no problem convincing them it was time to eat. They had developed powerful appetites on the drive west from New York. Luckily they went along with my little lobster plan, though the only lobster I had eaten up to that point was the mysterious invisible one in Chinese restaurants’ shrimp in lobster sauce. When presented with a platter filled with bright red shells, a tub full of melted butter, and a bib, I didn’t look back. That lobster was the high light of my summer. Thirty odd years later, lobsters have not lost their allure. Eating them still feels special. And they invariably signal a mood change (for the better) when you serve them to guests. Simply boiling or steaming is, of course, a short cut to nirvana, but for those seeking adventure we have explored grilling, roasting, and some sublime soup, salad, and sandwich creations. Happy lobstering!
