Reports of a continuing lobster glut continue to clog the news channels and foodie bulletin boards. But while prices are down and stocks are ample, lobsters still have a haute-cuisine reputation.
“It’s still perceived as a luxury,” says Rioja chef/ owner Jennifer Jasinski, who currently has two lobster items on her menu. “But my (wholesale) price is definitely down.”
Jasinski credits a drop in consumer demand for the lower prices and increased stocks.
Others aren’t convinced by the buzz. “It’s not quite as big a glut as you might have heard,” says Tom Butler of Tom’s Seafood and Specialties in Lakewood. “The price hasn’t dropped that much.”
But even Butler knows that it hasn’t been business as usual for East Coast lobstermen. “I’ve been in the business for 35 years, and every year like clockwork, they raise the price right before Christmas. This year, they didn’t. I know they hated that. They are hurting.”
Butler, who usually sources his lobsters from boats based in Machias Bay in Maine, cites more productive and sustainable harvesting techniques for the plentiful stocks. He suspects a market flood by a distribution channel in Maine, paired with a general drop in consumer spending, to explain the softening in prices. He’s lowered prices slightly over the past few months to $14.99 per pound.
Other area lobster prices range from $9.99 to $18.99, with a few markets, such as H Mart (2751 S. Parker Road, Aurora) and Pacific Ocean International (2200 W. Alameda Ave. in Denver), offering even steeper drops.
Maine, which accounts for over 70 percent of the nation’s lobster harvest, traditionally saw a peak season in early fall. But thanks to what Butler calls “pounding,” where lobsters are held in large, grated areas in protected pools fed by vigorous tides, “now the quality is good year-round.”
Jasinski saw an opportunity in falling prices to revive two Rioja dishes that had proven popular in the past — a lobster club sandwich and a lobster and mascarpone risotto — both of which fell off the menu after lobster became less cost-effective.
“I was losing my butt on lobster,” Jasinski says. “But now we can afford it again. People were asking for these dishes, and lobster prices were going down at the same time. It made sense to bring them back.”
Jasinski plans to feature these lobster dishes, and perhaps some specials, at least through the end of the month.
