lobsters

Learning Lobster at Hotel Christopher

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

$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.