Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Boston~Lobster Recap 2

So Lauren tells me that I'm supposed to blog about our experiences in Boston, but she's already written about the lobster count.  I'm posting a second blog to explain myself and our weirdness.  Yes, I did have two lobster rolls.  Not much to talk about there, except that they were great. 
But the four lobsters....now here's where there is a tale to tell.  They say that marriage changes a person.  Well it's true :).  Two things I have picked up from Lauren are 1) an economical nature, and 2) her love of grocery stores (okay, I'm not a fanatic, but I tag along.....we looked around in a grocery store over 30 times when we visited Italy....seriously).  And this is where our story begins.

It all began on our first night in Boston as we were walking back from watching the Red Sox beat the KC Royals.  I was a little hungry and was hoping to pick up a late night snack on our way back.  Lauren vetoed a pizza place and a few other restaurants that I saw, but as we neared our hotel and I was almost out of hope, she happened to see a Shaw's Grocery Store.  Of course we had to go inside to look around so that I could find something to eat.....and as I followed Lauren around and quietly pouted, an amazing thing happened....Lauren turned to me and said "hey Mike, do you want a lobster?"  A smile washed across my face as I quickly did the mental math.....yes, it was a great deal!  Wait, but what about butter....wouldn't that throw it off....no, at $1.50 for a few sticks, it'd still be a steal.  It took a little finagling, but the seafood clerk agreed to steam a lobster even though it was almost 11 pm.  Around 20 minutes later we walking back to the hotel, lobster and supplies in hand, around $9 poorer but with a pronounced spring in my step.  One thing you should understand is that I really like lobster.  I repeated the lobster feast two more times, once for 2-1.25 lb lobsters($16), and once for a monster 2.75 lb lobster ($21) (which I ate in the AA Admirals club a the airport....yeah I got a lot of funny looks....but hey I was eating a lobster and they weren't). 
I know this sounds weird......I mean why would you go to Boston to eat lobsters from a grocery store....wouldn't it be better to get seafood from a famous restaurant?  Wouldn't that be a better experience?  But here are my thoughts, and you can decide for yourself what you think.   

1.  The lobsters in Boston grocery stores are the same as the lobsters in Boston restaurants.....at least I think they are.  If this isn't true, then my whole argument is shot.  Either way though, I couldn't tell....they were fresh and tasty to me. 
2.  Lobsters at a grocery store are way cheaper than lobsters in a restaurant.  We're in a recession for goodness sakes.  They were $5.99/lb for lobsters under 1.25 lbs, and $7.99 for lobsters over 1.25 lbs.  At a restaurant you'd end up paying $15 for a 1.25 lb lobster.  Essentially this means that you can have more lobsters.......and how can that be a bad thing? 
3.  Grocery stores will steam lobsters for you, and will even crack the claws and cut open the tail if you ask nicely and say please.  No joke, you really do have to ask nicely and say please. 
4.  Getting a lobster from a grocery store is faster than ordering one at a restaurant. 
5.  When people who live in Boston eat lobsters, they usually get them from grocery stores.  At least this is what they guy sitting next to us on the flight over told us.
6.  You don't have to tip at a grocery store.
7.  Our hotel was more of an apartment and had forks, plates, and even a stove in it.  I could see this as a major setback so we were lucky to be well equipped. 
Anyway, that's my story.  I hope you enjoyed it. 

5 comments:

Cooking with tien said...

Oh, my goodness. Jeff would love a lobster from the east coast. The grocery prices are amazing. -Tien

Anonymous said...

I think you're good on all counts! Plus with the grocery store lobster you don't have to worry about eating the filler stuff like salad, bread and sides.

But, bringing food into the Admirals Club? Isn't that forbidden? I guess it WAS lobster.

Alan from Makiki

Unknown said...

I think I talked to Laur when you were in the hotel eating this said grocery store lobster...however I don't think I got the whole story then...thought it was a little weird, but it all makes sense now...

genkitummy said...

Tien-Yeah the prices were amazing!

Alan-Whoops, I didn't realize there were food rules at the Admirals Club. I better be careful next time.

Reagan-I guess I should have explained that to you better.

genkitummy said...

Tien-Yeah the prices were amazing!

Alan-Whoops, I didn't realize there were food rules at the Admirals Club. I better be careful next time.

Reagan-I guess I should have explained that to you better.