Wny the fascination with lobster?

[1313steve]

Must be nice to be from Richmond, Virginia.

 

Can't get lobster at any restaurant where I live.

A few years back we went to some nice restaurant in Oregon where there was lobster. The steaks ran $18-$30, the lobster started about $45. That seems to be the norm on the West coast.

 

A quick Google search and I found lobster tails at Chandlers in Boise. Looks like the typical upscale steak and seafood house. The menu shows lobster tails for $36, a filet for $31 or a ribeye for $41.

[grand isle joe]

"......lobstah is just ah excuse to eat buttah"......old Maine sayin'......;):D

[cruise10000]

It is quick and fast to order unless you are in an Applbees/) O'Charley's type restaurant. I do not eat them and my husband usually gets them when we are traveling and he wants to grab a quick meal. He is not going to order that at a regular restaurant that has much better food.

 

Hamburgers are best in Maine!

[momofmeg]

Hamburgers are best in Maine!

 

Lol! I heard lobster was for lobster lovers, as it is fresh caught. Hamburgers is nothing but ground up organ meat and fat-not exactly the best food for you.

[navybankerteacher]

One of the first things the Pilgrims learned from the native Americans upon settling around Massachussetts Bay in the 1620's was how to grow corn. Step one was to bury lobsters in the fields - early fertilization. In the eighteenth century lobster was considered junk food - suitable only for servants, convicts and the children of the poor. Not until well into the 1800's did they start to catch on as something actually worthy of "real" people.

 

Of course, they do look like big, scary bugs - and until there was refrigeration and salt water tanks and all, there was no way anyone could consider eating them more than a mile or so from the New England coast.

[OCruisers]

Hamburgers are best in Maine!

 

Thanks for the tip! Gosh, seems we've been missing out by ordering lobster in Maine rather than hamburgers. :D

LuLu

~~~

[grand isle joe]

One of the first things the Pilgrims learned from the native Americans upon settling around Massachussetts Bay in the 1620's was how to grow corn. Step one was to bury lobsters in the fields - early fertilization. In the eighteenth century lobster was considered junk food - suitable only for servants, convicts and the children of the poor. Not until well into the 1800's did they start to catch on as something actually worthy of "real" people.

 

Of course, they do look like big, scary bugs - and until there was refrigeration and salt water tanks and all, there was no way anyone could consider eating them more than a mile or so from the New England coast.

 

...in the early 1900's there was a riot in the Maine jails after the prisoners were fed lobster day in and day out....they were sick of "peasant food".....

[stoneharborlady]

I love lobster, but on my 2012 cruise the lobster was extremely mushy. Not good. The very large shrimp that accompanied it more than made up for it. Next time I will ask for double on the shrimp, and they can keep their lobster.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Like many others, lobster is very, very expensive here, much more so than a good steak. It's often not even priced, just 'Market Value'. And even then it might not be that great.

 

I certainly don't cruise for the lobster, but it's nice to get it included in a dinner, even if it isn't always the best quality. I look forward to it as I never eat lobster otherwise.

[VillaHappy]

All you can eat lobster night! I be sure to pack an extra forgiving formal gown, so I can fully enjoy myself :D

[CheckersMidwest]

I haven't eaten a single hamburger while on a cruise. :) but just an FYI....hamburger is not ground up organs! We've had our own beef for years and I know for a fact exactly what parts of the steer it comes from.

[sjn911]

LOL..we in Montana take our beef seriously...the best hamburger is ground round or ground chuck with some fat in it..10-15 percent for grilling. I think a safe quality meat char broiled hamburger that is pink inside, with a slice of garden grown tomato, fresh lettuce, and a slice of fresh sweet onion is one of the best things around..but I like fancy meals too..anything wonderful beef and i know I would love to try the Maine lobster...

 

I have had the tiny lobster be good and bad on Carnival...so whenever the third time is..I am going for more than one if good...LOLOL...Sarah

[Velvetwater]

I think the lobster hype is also from French culinary traditions from decades ago (along with other things like filet mignon, baked Alaska [obv not French though]and escargot). It feels refined and classy to some as its so ingrained as fine food. In Paris it is still an expensive dish.

 

I got excited as it was just part of the fun cruise experience but I had lobster times before....no clue why they serve the steak on Carnival elegant night though.

Edited March 23, 2014 by Velvetwater

[Happy ks]

It's amusing that people get so passionate about one particular food item on a cruise :D

 

I can take it or leave it. We've had great lobster in Maine and New Hampshire (12 miles of coastline!). We've had wonderful seafood along the west coast and in Hawaii. All on land. The only time we've had really good lobster on a ship was, oddly enough, in a specialty restaurant on an NCL ship in Hawaii. My husband had that and I had a wonderful steak the same night. That was the only good food we had all week, with the exception of one other night we went to another specialty restaurant.

 

We don't cruise for the food and would never get excited about having lobster in the dining room. We really prefer not going to formal night at all and going to a specialty restaurant those nights. I know that many prefer the inclusive food in the dining room and will not pay extra, but we have found that for $20-25 extra per person we can have a great meal, not just a mediocre meal. Well worth it, to us. It's great that we now can all have a choice.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Being from Nebraska, lobster is a very special dish. I am sure to people that have access to it more, the lobster on the ship is very mediocre. Its the same reason I do not get excited by the Prime Rib or the steak on the cruise. I can make it a 1000 times better at home with my freezer full of a whole beef.

 

Being from Nebraska as well, I agree completely. And, a good steak can be had for under $20 in many restaurants--a whole meal. Lobster isn't usually even priced.

 

Yes, I know live Maine lobsters are much better than the tails on a ship, but those are included in the price of the cruise, so we're not out anything for having some. I'm not thrilled by any of the beef dishes, since we can get better at home. Lobster is a nice change.

 

It is a lot about the butter, though!