The Roaring 40’s
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
(3 out of 5 hot dogs)
Loading ...Urban Lobster Shack
805 3rd Ave (at 49th)
Time: All the time
Price: lobster roll, coleslaw and salad, $10
Urban Lobster Shack is located in a secret underground food-court. It’s sort of a lunch-speakeasy for people who have boring office jobs in midtown. When you enter the discreet office building location, a security guard gives you the evil eye as you turn left and go down an escalator into the seedy underbelly of Manhattan. The “Shack” is less of a shack, and more of a kiosk that could easily be converted to hawk bedazzled cell phone cases during other business hours. The lobster roll is tasty, although it fills you up only about as much as a hotdog (coulda eaten 3 of ‘em). The side salad and a mini-cup of coleslaw are fine too, but don’t do much to curb that terrible hunger that is slowly, minute by minute, engorging my body and soul.
Oysters are considered an aphrodisiac. I’m not sure what about slurping raw mollusks out of a crusty shell people find arousing, but it definitely seems fancy. And after the lobster poop incident last week, I figured I should continue my trend of ‘rich people food at poor people prices’ and go for the oysters. Fear not all you 9-5ers, Fish’s ‘Red, White and Blue special’ is available all the time. It consists of six blue point oysters, or clams, and a glass of wine or a PBR. Oysters typically go for around $2 each in NYC, so this is a good deal already, and then add in some house merlot, and I couldn’t be happier. But beware, entrees at this seafood joint are pretty pricey, so come in for the special, and then row your boat out the door before being tempted to spend $22 for seared scallops. There is also a $19 all-you-can-eat steamed Maryland crab special from 12-3 everyday for your feasting pleasure.
I was very excited to have an affordable fresh Maine lobster right here in NYC. I ventured to Beach Café to check it out (which by the way isn’t very beachy, in menu or décor). They offer 1 ¼ lb lobsters, which turned out to be pretty small with very little meat inside (scrumptious though). Luckily there is a bread basket, and baked potato to fill you up. Lobster isn’t usual fare for a cheap foodie like myself, so I was perplexed and a little revolted by the green stuff that covered most of the body. When I asked my waiter what it was, he said that he didn’t know, but that I should probably just eat it. I sampled a little bit, and it tasted like lobster poop. Hmmm fishy. When I got home, I did a little internet research and found out it’s called tomalley, and it acts as the digestive system for the lobster (that explains the taste…) AND it probably should not be eaten because high levels of toxins. Cool. A bottle of Listerine and a couple shots of tequila later, I felt cleansed of crustacean crap, but I don’t think I’ll be doing the Baywatch run back to 70th street any time soon.