lobster

The $40,000 Lobster Press at the Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux

Filed under: Dining, Gadgets, Luxury Travel & Hotels

It's never too early to start thinking about outfitting your beach house, so might I suggest that The Regent Grand Hotel in Bordeaux, France, offers an idea worth copying.

If you love to eat those delightful sea crustaceans, and who doesn't, you will want to do like the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Pressoir d'Argent, and acquire a lobster press.

There aren't very many of these devices in the world -- it's 90 pounds, made of silver, and looks like a cross between something Willy Wonka might dream up and a torture device -- but it's also shiny and adorned with lovely lobster sculptures as it's meant to be used tableside.

The idea is similar to a duck press -- after removing tail and claws, the rest of the lobster is inserted into the press, where a two-person team works the device to press out the lobster juices. (See the gallery for an action shot.) The result: lobster jus, much stronger in flavor than you'd get from the most developed lobster stock. At The Regent, the chef adds the jus to bearnaise sauce, and serves that on top of roasted lobster meat.

The lobster press is are custom made by Christofle, and take 150 hours of labor by ten master craftsmen to create -- they cost 30,000 Euro, just or around $40,700.

Or you can just book a table at the restaurant, and after such grand meal, you'll certainly require a room. It's hard to beat the view at the Royale Suite, which has a terrace jacuzzi -- but I like the Prestige Suites, which come with their own private wine bar within rolling distance of (the very comfy) bed.

Which, come to think of it, is another fine idea for your beach house.

Gallery: The Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux, France

The Lobster Press in Action at Le Pressoir d'Argent

Lounge Area at Le Pressoir d'Argent, Bordeaux

Dining at Le Pressoir d'Argent: The colors are a bit more subtle at night

Another View of the Dining Room at the Michelin Starred Le Pressoir d'Argent

Tags: bordeaux, bordeaux hotel, france, kitchen gadgets, lobster, travel

Maine Magazine Launches 2011 Guide Books

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art, Books

Maine magazine, the stylish bible of "more than just lobsters and lighthouses", has debuted its 2011 guides to the best the Pine Tree State has to offer. This year in addition to the Eat Maine edition launched last year they've added Art Maine and Home Maine versions with help from sister publication Maine Home + Design. Indispensable for both visitors and natives alike, the pocket-sized booklets act as a Baedeker to the best in dining, decor and the arts around the beautiful northern and easternmost bit of New England. Of course they do list the best lobster rolls in the Eat edition but that's just the tip of the icecap. The guides are priced at $5.95 and come free to subscribers; alternatively they can be found at many Portland businesses and are also available from the magazine directly.

Tags: art, decor, dining, eat+maine+2011, eatmaine2011, guide, lobster, magazines, Maine, Maine Home + Design, Maine magazine, New England, travel

The Fresh Lobster Company Wins the Readers' Choice Award for Best Online Seafood

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Services

What better way to get fresh lobster than straight from the fishermen themselves? The Fresh Lobster Company does exactly that – part of the reason it's the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award in the best online seafood category.

Located in Gloucester, Ma., The Fresh Lobster Company has built its name by forming relationships with the New England lobstermen and using the connection to get the freshest fish possible. The company's offerings are taken directly from the boats and shipped overnight all across the country.

Gallery: The Fresh Lobster Company

The company specializes in shipping live lobsters, ranging from tiny (one pound: $20) to jumbo (twelve pounds: $152), which are delivered in special water-filled contained to ensure optimal freshness. The Fresh Lobster Company also offers live sea urchins, live sea scallops, live crabs and other critters; there's also gourmet sushi, steaks and desserts on the menu.

Tags: awards-main, best seafood, lobster, luxist-awards, online shopping, The Fresh Lobster Company, winners-outdoor-entertainment, winners-outdoorentertainment

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Learning Lobster at Hotel Christopher

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Growing up in New England, I've cracked into more than a few lobsters, ranging from the downright puny to a mighty 7 pounds. This continued experience with creatures (formerly, by the time they reached my table) dwelling off the costs of Nova Scotia and Maine, ingrained in me a baseline for lobster that has guided my expectations ever since.

So, as the waiter at the Hotel Christopher on St. Barths explained the evening's specials last week, the langouste, which he translated for us as "lobster," caught my attention. Recalling my travails with French in high school and college, I vaguely remembered that Jean-Paul Sartre writing of a hallucination in which he fled an "homard." The different word for lobster led to the obvious question: "What's the difference?"

Christian Langlade, who owns Hotel Christopher with his wife, Sandrine, explained that homard" refers to the tasty resident of northern waters, the creature I cracked open throughout my childhood – and which tormented the French existentialist. "Langouste," however, is the lobster found in the Caribbean, sans claws yet certainly delightful to chomp.

Disclosure: Hotel Christopher picked up the tab for this trip. Nonetheless, my opinions are my own – they're certainly not for sale at any price.

Tags: hotel, hotels, lobster, lobsters, resort, resorts, St Barths, st. barth, st. barths

Champagne Dreams and Lobster Wishes for Everyone

by Shaw Stafford (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Can anything good come from this economic slowdown? If there's a silver lining in this cloud of a sluggish economy, it's that prices on things usually considered expensive are falling, making these small (and not so small) luxuries more affordable. Sort of. Check out these luxe items gone cheap, or at least cheaper.

LOBSTER--If you live around New England, you may have noticed the lower prices on this pricey crustacean, driven by recession-inspired lower demand. You can buy lobster locally from the fisherman on the corner for half of what it used to be a few years ago. If you don't live near the lobsters, check out your local grocery or warehouse store. Earlier this year, buyers were finding lobster for $7.99 a pound at a Costco in San Antonio, Texas. Try Hancock Gourmet Lobster to get it delivered to your door.

Forecast: Enjoy. Thanks to responsible fishing practices and lower demand, prices will stay low and supply isn't falling anytime soon.

CHAMPAGNE --With competition from first-class sparkling wines and Champagne exports dwindling, many retailers are sharply discounting bottles of bubbly. As consumers realize the abundance of high quality Champagne-like substitutes, spots like Good Cheap Wines will continue to offer their take on the best of all vine inspired libations.

Forecast: Enjoy. There will always be expensive bottles and there will always be the cheap stuff. Since inexpensive Champagne and sparkling wines are tasting better while becoming easier to find, have fun taste testing to find the one you like.

Tags: champagne, lobster, yachts

Continue reading “Champagne Dreams and Lobster Wishes for Everyone”

London Restaurant Creates World's Most Expensive Curry

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Ready to eat the most luxurious curry around? For £2,000 a portion, the London restaurant Bombay Brasserie is serving Samundari Khazana, or Seafood Treasure. The dish includes caviar, abalone, sea snails, truffle shavings , a whole lobster splashed in edible gold and four hollowed-out quail eggs stuffed with caviar. The curry was launched to coincide with the DVD launch of the movie Slumdog Millionaire. You can see a picture over at the Daily Mail.

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Tags: curry, edible gold, EdibleGold, lobster, london, most expensive, MostExpensive, truffles

Upside Of The Down Economy, Cheaper Lobster

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The NY Times recently announced another silver lining to the current economic cloud, lowering lobster prices. Lobster prices have been steadily on the rise for years but now prices are down by about one third. The article quotes Trevor Corson, the author of "The Secret Life of Lobsters" who says that lobster fisherman have made lobster fisheries so sustainable, they have recently had record catches. They were sending excess lobsters to processing plants that sold them frozen to chain restaurants. Some of the Canadian plants have closed due to the poor economy so there are more caught lobsters than usual available. Eventually supply will slow to meet demand but for now, cheaper lobsters are the rule. So get that melted butter ready and the article has one more tip, put them in the freezer for 15 minutes before any cooking methods, its slows their metabolism.

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Tags: lobster

Dean & Deluca Lobster Rolls Only A Day Away

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

This summer, Dean & Deluca is sending its customers Maine-caught lobster in one of two rolls: light mayo, lemon and celery or mayo and tarragon. This lobster is prime to eat right now, weeks before shedder season when lobsters molt, meaning soft shells and wimpy meat. As far as fresh lobster goes, it's reasonably priced at $135 for eight rolls (plus $35 for mandatory next day shipping). If no decadent picnics are in your future, at least get on the Dean & Deluca mailing list. Because a full-page spread of plump lobster is kind of like foodie Playboy.

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Tags: dean and deluca, DeanAndDeluca, lobster, lobster roll, LobsterRoll, maine, picnic

Guarantee Your Lobster With Catch a Piece of Maine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

If you've ever watched the show Lobster Wars, you know that obtaining lobster is no easy task. Now you can be part of the lobster experience without the hard work by investing in Catch a Piece of Maine. A partnership, which costs $2,995, entitles you to the proceeds of one lobster trap. Your trap will be fished by one of the eight lobstermen participating in the program. During each trip your lobsterman will record the catch from the trap.

The number of lobsters caught in your trap, each time your lobsterman checks it, will be credited to your personal lobster account. At any time you can have lobsters from your account shipped anywhere in the continental U.S. You are guaranteed at least 40 lobsters from your trap. Each shipment comes as a complete lobster dinner, and with every four lobsters ordered, you receive a pound of steamer clams, a pound of mussels, four servings of blueberry cheesecake, butter, lemon and lobster utensils and bibs.

Those who sign up during the holidays will be credits with 12 lobsters so that they can use them during the holiday season, but the traps go in May 1, and are pulled out on December 31.

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Tags: expire-images:2008-11-11, holidash, lobster, lobster traps, lobsterman, maine

Solid Gold Lobster

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

The most expensive lobster we had seen, up until today, was a $3,700 glass and silver creation. It doesn't seem terribly impressive now that this strikingly realistic solid gold lobster has come to our attention. The crustacean is made from 1.1-lbs of pure gold and is intricately worked down to the last tiny detail. It is about 13" long and 7" tall. Currently on display in a jewelry store in Nagoya Japan, the lobster's asking price is around 5 million yen, or $40,000.

[via growabrain]

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Tags: gold, gold lobster, golden, japan, jewelry store, lobster

$740 Per Pound Lobster

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Pets

Lobsters are already a popular luxury item at top restaurants, and usually diners can expect to pay something a bit about the market price per pound for that day. A $740 per pound lobster is in an entirely different league. Fortunately, if you splurge on this crustacean, you'll be able to enjoy it for more than a meal since it is made of glass. The lobster has silver antennae and was hand-formed to be as true to the look of a real lobster as possible by artist Taf Lebel Schaefer. It measures 11.75"x6.625". Price: $3,700.

[via NYT]

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Tags: animal, crustacean, glass, lobster, lobsters, paperweight, price per pound, sculpture

CrustaStun

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Gadgets

This kitchen gadget is good for lobster lovers and humanitarians alike, though it's probably most appealing to those who are both. The CrustaStun is an electronic stunning device that kills knocks lobsters unconscious in a fraction of a second, then kills them with a jolt of electricity to their central nervous system. The entire process takes less than 5 seconds and sounds significantly more humane than slicing the crustacean in half with a large knife or simply plopping one into a vat of boiling water. Currently, it is only available in an industrial-looking restaurant model, but it could be worth the £1,500 to £2,000 if you eat a lot of lobster and want one for home use. A smaller, kitchen-sized one is being developed, which will probably have more aesthetic appeal.