Rant: Messy Lobsters

I do love the taste of lobster, whether it is butter-poached or in mac n' cheese. During the past week, I had a compelling dish of lobster and saffron spiced rice in a sherry bodega, within a room containing casks of vintage sherries back to the 1930s. Such an amazing setting for a scrumptious dish.

On Saturday, I attended a party in Ipswich, where we had plenty of boiled lobsters, basically all we could eat. I generally though don't like eating lobsters in the shell in public, just in the privacy of my own home. It is not something I will normally order at a restaurant either. Why, especially if I enjoy lobster so much?

Because they can be so messy. You might crack a lobster claw and end up squirting a dinner companion with water and lobster juice. They give you a lobster bib at a restaurant for good reason. They give you wet naps after your meal for a reason. This is not a dish to order on a first date, or if you are trying to impress someone. It is a dish better served at home, where you don't mind as much that it is messy.

I would rather have a lobster pie, lobster cocktail or a flavorful lobster bisque. With all of the available, cleaner options, why order a whole lobster at a restaurant? You can still have all that sweet meat, in a much easier and cleaner fashion. Can anyone give me a reason to order a whole lobster at a restaurant?

A plastic bib is not attractive on anyone.