I've never eaten lobster!

[heatherb1958]

Hello again treacle .

We both love sea food and have tried lobster on our cruises . To be perfectly honest we couldn't see what all the fuss was about but we have yet to try Maine lobster.

My rule of thumb is:- if it still looks cute as an adult I won't eat it ! so rabbit is off the menu, just love lamb!! Nearly broke the rule in Australia and had kangaroo pizza.! I am not joking:eek: :eek:

[Rala]

To Scher, If you read this whole thread, I think you will see that we are all aware that the lobster tail served on the ships is spiny lobster. We have just been chatting about lobster in general in a very FRIENDLY manner. And even if we didn't know that it is spiny lobster that is served on the ships, it does NOT mean that any of us are ignorant. I think maybe somebody else, like Nliedel, should have had a nap today. Look how friendly she was!!!!

[Sheffie]

My rule of thumb is:- if it still looks cute as an adult I won't eat it ! so rabbit is off the menu, just love lamb!! Nearly broke the rule in Australia and had kangaroo pizza.! I am not joking:eek: :eek:

 

Our friends raised 3 beef cattle that they were going to butcher and put into the freezer. To keep things in perspective they named them Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner!

 

I wanted to have Great Blue Heron for dinner when he ate my pet goldfish!!!!:eek: He is lucky I didn't have my trusty Red Rider BB gun handy!

[sgttami]

Our friend is a diver in the Caribbean and caught a 13 pound lobster last year...best I ever had...(I think we ate it for a week...think Bubba Gump...how many ways can I make lobster!!)

 

Living at the Jersey shore we have access to a ton of seafood markets where we can eat it every day if we want...(we maybe do once a month)

 

I have to say that the worst tasting lobster I ever had was in Maine( I thought it was going to be the best)..

 

If you've never eaten it...gotta try it...I'm not a butter fan..like fresh lemon instead.

[FitzLA]

Not true. The creature served onboard (spiny lobster) does not have large claws like the tank lobster in your local Red Lobster. All the "eatin" is in the tail.

 

 

Ewww....that makes it even worse. And Red Lobster? I have never eaten there either. :D

[FitzLA]

FYI Lobster Tail

 

Some people are very ignorant! Lobster tail is not normally Maine Lobster( the only good Lobster) Lobster Tail is normally Spiny Lobster which to me is much less superior to Maine Lobster. Unless otherwise stated Lobster tail is not just the tail of a lobster that the majority of people are talking about when they say they like lobster. I adore Maine Lobster I hate Lobster tail.

 

The only ignorant people are those who ridicule others for no reason. There is no need to call people ignorant because they were not aware of something. You need an attitude check!

[Jan_In_Maine]

Aww - I found this thread and like Rich I live in Maine, and I have a tendency to talk way too much about Maine "stuff". I had lobster on our last cruise and I enjoyed it and I also enjoyed our local Red Lobster (before they closed down as it cost too much to ship food up here - although they didn't have to ship the seafood). Some "facts" about Maine lobster.

 

1. It is seriously wrong to eat lobster in a "fancy" resturant as they are picnic food and very messy. Best to have paper plates, buckets for the trash and tons of paper towels to clean up one's self. On Mother's day lobster was 6.99 at the grocery store.

 

2. Lobster is not Kosher as they are bottom feeders. Both shellfish and ocean fish make good fertilizer and I believe it was Native Americans who showed settlers how to put a fish in with the corn crop.

 

3. We still have a law on the books that limits the number of days that lobster may be served to the prisioners at the state prison as they complained about having to eat so much (never under estimate the power of advertising, it wasn't until they could be shipped quickly by plane that they became popular to eat).

 

4. If one has lobster they should also have steamers, corn on the cob and cole slaw or potato chips to round out the picture.

 

5. Have butter on the lobster - use the lemon to clean the hands and get the lobster smell off them.

 

6. I think the claws are the best part - my dh thinks the tail is the best - its cheating to use the cracker to open the lobster - hands work better. The green "stuff" is the liver which is good cold with mayo - the red "stuff" are the eggs - which is gross.

 

Unless we go to a lobster co-op, I rarely eat lobster any more- I haven't cooked it at home in years as it makes the house stink for days (although the one time I cooked squid that was even worse) - but in my opinion, I think that all lobster is "wicked good" - enjoy! Jan

[lovemylab]

I am from Eastern Canada and never realized that the lobster served on cruise ships was not the same type of lobster we have here. The things you learn on these boards.....

[Homosassa]

If you don't like the spiny lobster tails which are served on the ship, don't write off all lobsters. Many times the lobster tail is poorly prepared onboard. Some hints to discern if the tail is good to eat:

 

1. If your first impression is that the tail is salty, then someone goofed in the preparation.

2. If the texture is at all mushy, the tail has been thermally abused somewhere along the line and might be partially decomposed. Don't eat, a tail in that condition is only fit for fertilizer.

[Ocean Boy]

And for what it's worth, lobsters neurological systems are so primative that they are incapable of feeling/sensing pain. That's a characteristic that humans project onto them. But I guess I can understand not wanting to see the thing you are about to eat wriggling around 20 minutes earlier. :)

That is, in fact, the present teaching on the matter. However, years ago they also taught that dogs did everything my instinct and had no ability to learn. They could only be trained. The perceived learning was a characteristic that we humans projected on to them. Yes, learning was something that humans decided was only applicable to humans. Well we all, or most of us, know better about that now. Yeah, we humans have had a lot of odd ideas over the years when it comes to the other creatures we share this planet with.

[Ocean Boy]

Completely different creature?

 

Spiny lobsters are a different type of lobster than you usually see in the tank at the store, but unless you ask the cooks or see the package you cannot tell which type the ship serves, based on what you get on your plate.

One taste and I'll tell you exactly which type it is.:D

[DeepWaterMariner]

Despite how some people feel about the quality of cruise ship lobster tail, you can bet that 80 to 90% of the meals served on "lobster night" will be lobster tail and that a good percentage of those will ask for seconds. It may not be the best but it's still good...especially with all that butter.

[madelinerose]

Hmmm...interesting. There are 2 Whole Foods in my area and neither have lobster tanks.

 

 

An interesting aside is that Whole Foods announced yesterday they are discontinuing selling live lobster in their markets.

[FitzLA]

Hmmm...interesting. There are 2 Whole Foods in my area and neither have lobster tanks.

 

Mostly only the newer, larger, whole foods have the lobster tanks. There is a new HUGE one in my area that does have a lobster tank.

[jwlane]

Hmmm...interesting. There are 2 Whole Foods in my area and neither have lobster tanks.

I usually provide the source (just the facts, ma'am. No, "I heard" or "I read somewhere".)

 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/pr_06-16-06.html

[jwlane]

I think you will see that we are all aware that the lobster tail served on the ships is spiny lobster.

Actually, it took quite a bit of discussion/rebuttal/fact presentation to make that point clear to all. If in fact we have.

[Calvin]

Despite how some people feel about the quality of cruise ship lobster tail, you can bet that 80 to 90% of the meals served on "lobster night" will be lobster tail and that a good percentage of those will ask for seconds. It may not be the best but it's still good...especially with all that butter.

 

You said it, Deep Water Mariner!

 

I have had lobster in New England, Florida, Red Lobster :), and on each of my 16 cruises, and have always enjoyed it. Sure, some taste better than others but, for me at least, it's all good.

 

I was watching a cruise show on the travel channel and they mentioned that on a Voyager class ship, the ship carries more than 3,000 lobster tails, so someone, besides me, HAS to be consuming them.

 

RCI used to serve their lobster tails with a citrus sauce, which I found to be very tasty but I don't recall if they still serve it that way.

 

My take: People like burgers. But there are kobe burgers, black angus burgers, etc. I will eat them all. I have 235 lbs. on a 6'3" frame to confirm that!

[sherin65]

I've had lobster 4 or 5 times. Each time I've tried to like it but I just can't. It tastes like well,,, nothing, yes rubbery nothing. Oh, but if it is rubbery then it was overcooked. Then it was overcooked at the golf club in FL, some fancy restaurant in Baltimore, and Red Lobster.

 

My cruise ship lobster wasn't rubbery but was still tasteless until I put garlic butter all over it. That was good. ;)

[madelinerose]

I've been to the Whole Foods in Manhattan in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle maybe a dozen times and have not seen a lobster tank. This store is massive for a Whole Foods - 59,000 square feet.

 

I did just read the link from jwlane, so I appreciate your info. Thanks! ;)

 

 

Mostly only the newer, larger, whole foods have the lobster tanks. There is a new HUGE one in my area that does have a lobster tank.

[madelinerose]

Thanks for the facts, sir! ;)

 

I usually provide the source (just the facts, ma'am. No, "I heard" or "I read somewhere".)

 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/pr_06-16-06.html

[IrishDolphin]

I, too, love lobster, and especially big ole Maine ones. I was raised without seafood in my early life (mom hated it so we all suffered :p ) and even shrimp didn't suit me until my late teens.

 

I do like crab legs better, sweeter and not as chewy, in my opinion, and I agree with poster above, great picnic food, the messier, the better :D

 

Oh, and I have a confession on one of my quirks, I couldn't stand throwing the lobsters in the pot (my imagination ran wild and I could hear "screaming") so I took my rolling pin and hit it on the head to kill it (I know, I know) - now I don't look at them and just ask the wait staff to pick one out for me at a restaurant (no more doing it at home).

[Glittercat]

What a great thread this has been ...full of anecdotes, whimsy, disturbing mental images, folklore, and information! :)

[sscruising]

I agree, I'm not a fan of butter & I think lemon brings out more flavor!

 

Sandi

[Rala]

JW, Thank you. I meant what you said ie. after our discussion/ rebuttal, etc.. I just cannot make my hands type as fast as my brain "talks". I hope everybody now knows everything about spiny lobsters vs. the other kind!!!

[rfische1]

Hey Jan, good to hear from you. I hope all is well up north.

 

I was raised in Ohio, so not much sea food. When I got to Maine I went crazy. Now it's no big deal. Took a walk by the water's edge with my DW last night and the site of the lobster bouys reminded me of an anecdote. Seems my brother was here with friends from NE Ohio. One of the friends commented about all the litter in the bay. I was polite enough not to laugh and then explained that the litter she was looking at was actually money. She had a puzzled look on her face, then the lightbulb went on. She then asked about lobstering and I pointed to a boat in the harbor checking traps. In Maine, we have size restrictions both small and large. Those monster lobsters come from Canada and New Hampshire where those heathens don't care.