Someone, somewhere named September 25 as National Lobster Day this year, but the crustacean commemoration mostly flew under the radar. A few restaurants, however, marked the occasion. We were pretty thrilled to celebrate with the lobster bocadillo at Atlántico (600 Harrison Ave., Boston; 857-233-1898; atlanticoboston.com) in Boston’s South End. This third of chef-owner Michael Serpa’s restaurants focuses on the seafood traditions of Spain and Portugal. We’ll vouch for that. The menu echoes much of what we’ve eaten in Cádiz, A Coruna, San Sebastian, or Barcelona — but with a New England twist.
Tourists to Boston might argue that every day is Lobster Day. It’s the dish they’ve been anticipating and they seem to order it with abandon. Those of us who live here indulge less frequently. And if we’re reading the climatic and regulatory tea leaves correctly, everyone will be eating lobster less often in the years to come. Warming waters in the Gulf of Maine are pushing the lobster population farther north and farther east out on the Atlantic shelf. Efforts to prevent endangered whales from becoming entangled in fishing lines will certainly change the technology of the industry. It’s absolutely necessary, but for everything that’s gained, some other things will be lost.
David used to be a lobsterman and he remembers a certain magic about inshore lobstering in the summer. Dew glistened on the grass when he’d walk down to Bayview Street in Belfast, Maine, climb down the cliff to the pebbly shore, and row out to his boat to start hauling traps. The water would be glassy until the sun rose high enough to heat the land and create an onshore wind. On a good day, he could cruise down the ledges where he had set his traps and have enough catch to sell before lunch.
Sustainable approaches to lobster on the menu
When lobster was plentiful and cheap, most diners ordered whole lobsters. They picked out the claws and tails. More often than not, they left the knuckles and body cavity meat alone. But in the last few years we’ve seen a welcome economy take hold in lobster dishes on restaurant menus. More often than not, they involve a concentration of small pieces of lobster meat. Whether it’s done by the fish distributor or by brute labor in the kitchen, every bit of edible lobster is harvested for the menu. That meat may be in a bisque, mixed with celery and onion in mayonnaise as a salad, or just presented as a lobster roll.
Part of what we liked about Atlántico’s approach to marking National Lobster Day was the simplicity of the dish. (FYI, that’s chef de cuisine Oscar Andrade above and server Bridget Elizalde at the top of the post.) The restaurant departed from its purely Iberian focus to create a chef’s elevated take on a casual coastal New England classic. The special consisted of buttery morsels of cooked lobster meat on a brioche bun with a side of house-made potato chips and glass of cava (Spanish sparkling wine from Catalunya). The butter emphasized the richness of the lobster, while the bubbles of the cava provided a prickly counterpoint in the mouth.
Besides, every celebration calls for raising a flute in a toast.
