I: Lobster

I've spent the past 2 weeks in the Boston area. In my time around Boston, I've had 3 lobster rolls: one at James Hook & Co., one at Saltie Girl, and one at Neptune Oyster. 3 lobster rolls in, I sure feel like I ate lobster and butter and bread.¹

By which I mean I found the rolls good, not mind-blowing. In retrospect, I kind of regret how much I paid for the lobster rolls. I tried 3 times to change my perception of lobster, and I've ended up confirming I just don't have the taste others have for it.

II: Lobsta

Next to Neptune Oyster I saw a sign for “lobsta rolls,” without an r similar to Received Pronunciation. I joke the Boston accent imports the British accent and takes the classiness down two notches.

What of class anyway? I've long associated lobster with pretentious high class. And I remind myself that just because it costs a lot doesn't make it good. Something harder to access or make doesn't automatically make it better, either. Sometimes to maintain “elite status” or whatever we drop something newly popular or accessible for the next obscure or inaccessible trend.

III: Roll

I enjoyed the Saltie Girl roll the most. Not for the lobster, mind you. I liked the bread, and the generous spread of butter.

Julia Child famously said “With enough butter, anything is good.” Sometimes the shine of the dish comes from the “side” ingredients, their contribution and interaction. We shouldn't underestimate the power, the importance, of the whole.