The Lobster Place -- Closed For Renovations Until Spring 2013 (New York, NY)

Lobster With Drawn Better

The Lobster Place has long been one of our favorite fishmongers for the fair prices, excellent oysters, fresh fish and competent chowders and bisques. (Prepared maki sushi is less stellar.) But only recently did we discover the joys of ordering a whole lobster, asking the very sweet and friendly staff to steam and crack it for you in the store, and then having the immediate gratification of eating it right in Chelsea Market while thumbing our noses at envious passersby.

Here's how it's done: First, you pick out your lobster from the ice table, just as you would if you were taking it home to do all the hard work yourself. (Lobsters are currently priced at $11.99 / pound and over the weekend, we saw them for $10.99 / pound -- very reasonable for NYC.) The nice man behind the ice table weighs it and sends it off to the kitchen to be steamed, while you pay at the register up front. You wait at the window at the back of the store for something like 10 minutes, chatting with all the other happy, friendly customers waiting for their orders, until they call your number and you emerge with a huge paper plate piled gloriously high with your pre-cracked lobster, drawn butter, lemon and a small green salad (or garnish) of lettuce and three delicious grape tomatoes.

Hijiki and Lotus Root Salad

As always, our lobsters were of excellent quality: fresh, sweet and firm. The kitchen expertly steamed them until just tender, and the meat separated easily from the shell.

Justin, Joseph and I had ours with sides of hijiki and lotus root salad and ika sansai (squid salad). The ika sansai was much too sweet and not something I would order again. The hijiki salad was was competent, though lotus root was a bit too hard and dry. If you like, you could also pick up a bread roll to accompany your meal at Amy's Breads -- Justin and Joseph had a square of fragrant, chewy rosemary-onion focaccia -- or any number of sides (including antipasti like roasted artichokes and roasted red peppers; pastas; and arancini) at Buon Italia.

This might just become one of my favorite dinners in NYC.

75 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 255-5672
www.lobsterplace.com/