Lobster

When you go to New England, specifically Massachusetts or Maine, and you ask anyone what the most popular New England delicatessen is, they will immediately say Lobster. But why? One may think it’s simply because lobsters are abundant in the north Atlantic ocean near the east coast of the United States, which is true. However, wartime is actually what made Lobster the fancy, sought after dish that it is known as today. Because the economy was booming during the war, it allowed wealthy people to eat tons and tons of lobster constantly. Furthermore, this was a time when canned food was very popular and lobster meat was extremely easy to can. This allowed not only wealthy people to consume lobster but also soldiers that were overseas and in the United States. This was what I call the creation of the “lobster gap.” 

When you go to a city like Boston, Massachusetts or Portland, Maine you will notice that there are very fancy lobster restaurants as well as very dive-type restaurants that also sell steamed lobster and lobster rolls. While lobster is overall an expensive treat, it varies in the “fanciness” of consumption because of the split during wartime between canned lobster and extremely fancy lobster. This also led to the creation of the lobster roll, lobster salad, etc. Lobster became so popular that it was being thrown into everything! Just kidding, but a lot of things. These new food creations involving lobster allowed a larger population to consume it which is why it was made so popular. In fact, lobster has become such a staple of New England culture that when you walk into any given New-England-themed, tourist-trap gift shop (you will most likely find these in the bigger cities), it is a guarantee that you will see lobster keychains, lobster shirts, lobster hats, lobster statues, lobster pictures, etc. This is because lobster has, in one way or another, become the face of New England. 

Personally, I have had great experiences with lobster myself. The first time I ever ate lobster was at a restaurant in Cape May, New Jersey (another hotspot for lobster) and I LOVED IT. Not only was it super tasty, but it was also an experience. When one consumes lobster (this depends on the classiness of the restaurant, however, it is the way most people consume it), they are given a plastic bib as well as a “shell cracker” to crack the hard shell that houses the delightful lobster meat. You work your way through each of the claws and then eventually eat the tail (the most meat and the best part of the lobster) all with a side of warm, melted butter to dip it in. By the end of the meal if your face, hands, bib, and possibly pants are not smelling of lobster, you didn’t eat it correctly. I will never forget that day. The first time I went to New England to eat lobster however, was truly an experience. I had a lobster roll every day for lunch and steamed lobster every day for dinner! Never once was I disappointed by the quality. This proves my overall point that lobster is the lifeblood of the food industry in New England.