Stalking the Lobster Lunch Truck

It was time to cross off my categorized bucket list a prolonged bite from the succulent-looking lobster roll sold by the Red Hook Lobster Pound truck. The thing looks so tempting and delicious in amateur photographs that I knew I would tolerate driving in Washington, D.C. traffic, shrugging off its heat, and being among people more fashionable than I am. 

I must say here that not all pescetarians include shellfish in their diets. My husband, for example, eats only fish and no other seafood. Besides his allegiance to a macrobiotic diet, his awareness of shellfish and mollusks as scavengers keeps him from sucking on crab claws along with his wife. I opt to include as much seafood variety in my diet as possible as long as it’s sustainably caught and managed.  

Our Luck with the Truck

            So I called up my friend Lilian, who was instantly game for stalking the truck with me, and headed for the Metro Center (transit station) area of D.C. I had checked Red Hook Lobster Pound’s website mid-morning to learn the general area they planned to set up for lunch. The food trucks can’t be specific, though, until they get to the general area and find a place to park. Most folks follow their favorite food trucks on Twitter, which I consulted and found out that the truck was parked at 12^th & G streets northwest. We saw the long line (which we fully expected to find) before we saw the food truck.

The lobster lunch line at 12th and G streets

Line Politics

In line behind us a man, whose face looked severely sun-flushed, complained about the heat and his trouble trying to pin-point the truck’s location. I guess he doesn’t use Twitter or check the truck’s Facebook page. That would save him some shoe leather and more sun exposure. Then the girl in front of us let her boyfriend cut the line (understandable and OK) along with two of his buddies (inexcusable and definitely not OK). As we queued closer, a sweat-streaming, stocky man avoided the line altogether by paying the second-in-line person $15.00—the current cost of a lobster roll—to buy his lunch. Oh, well. Being a first-time lobster truck stalker, I supposed the regulars tolerated these line-cutting, buy-off behaviors.  

Lobster Nirvana    

      After the half-hour wait in line, we purchased our lobster rolls and drinks and walked five more blocks under the angry, urban sun toward the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery to sit and eat in their shady interior courtyard. 

The Courtyard

       Before biting in, we both admired the flawlessly cooked lobster that stuffed the toasted, split buns:

My Warm, Butter-Bathed Connecticut Lobster Roll

Lilian's Cool, Maine-Style Roll

My last bite of lobster had been in December, 2010 in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Biloxi bite was a spiny lobster, but I enjoy Maine lobsters best. Maine lobsters are caught sustainably by fisherman using wooden lobster traps and, according to the Maine Lobster Council, have been caught this way for more than a century. This method helps to preserve lobsters that are spawning and growing. These lobsters are returned to the Gulf of Maine. The Council also has pretty strict rules and regulations that govern lobster harvesting. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch considers Maine or American lobster as “a good alternative” rather than a “best choice” seafood. That’s because the organization is still investigating whether lobsters are being overfished.  

            After finishing our lunch, we spent an hour or so strolling through the museum—quite a nice ending to our afternoon of lobster-truck stalking. 

     

When it’s OK to (Gently) Interrogate Your Food Server

            No one can finagle a custom entree from a restaurant like a long-practiced vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian. I know because I’ve done it many times. My husband is even better at it. Custom ordering involves inquiries of the server best left for the last order if you’re dining with friends—it’s the considerate thing to do if you want to ask about each item in the entrée. While it may be uncomfortable or embarrassing to ask questions about how a dish is prepared, it’s in your best interest to question your server about food you want to eat. Do you see yourself in this scenario?

You: “I’d like to order the cheese enchilada entrée with house salad…”

Server: “OK, got it!”

You: “Er, but I’m wondering if there’s any pork in the refried beans, any chicken broth in the rice, or any bacon bits on the salad?”

Server: “Uh. No, I don’t think so.”

You: “Can you check?”

Server: “Just a sec.” (Server goes and returns in 20 minutes. Good thing you have those chips and salsa to munch on.) “Sorry, there is pork in the beans and chicken broth in the rice, but you can get that salad without the bacon bits!”

 You: (sighing) “No thanks. I’ll just have the enchilada with a plain salad and a baked potato.” (You realize there’s a refrigerator-raiding session in your not-so-distant future.)

     Fellow pescetarians, vegetarians, and all who are committed to mindful food consumption, you can avoid or minimize the unintended “light” dinner.  By doing a bit of research and by gently interrogating your food server, if necessary, you can avoid the aforementioned scenario. There’s nothing to apologize for, because if you’ve made a commitment to a specialized diet, then you absolutely should have your food prepared thoughtfully and creatively. Here are a few suggestions to help you have a successful dining experience:

Stock Photo Courtesy of Microsoft

• Get the server’s advice before you order. This way, you involve the server in your food selection and can avoid sending a dish back to the kitchen (which the kitchen staff dislikes). Experienced servers know how to help diners plan a dish to avoid unwanted food elements. 
• Ask to have the restaurant manager stop by your table. Share your dietary preferences with him or her and communicate that you’re open to suggestions. Restaurant managers want your repeat business and will often (in my experience) personally ensure that your meal is satisfactory. You may feel this is too much fuss to make, but remember that you deserve to eat out occasionally (or more often if you can afford it) and you shouldn’t have to compromise your diet to do so. 
• Think in basic terms about the food described on the menu. Practice ordering without sauces, which may contain hidden meat products. Order simply prepared and seasoned broiled or roasted vegetables and seafood. 
• Take advantage of the restaurant’s website. Chain restaurants generally post their menus online with nutritional and allergy information, which can help to inform your choices later. Finer restaurants (again, in my experience) welcome inquires about their dishes and will do more to invent a satisfying entrée for you. 
• Work to develop a discerning and suspicious palate to help you recognize even hints of a food element that you’re trying to avoid. This will be easier if you have eaten the now-excluded foods at some point in your life. As soon as you detect unwanted food elements in your dish, call the server over and ask his/her advice about getting a similar dish without the food item you’re trying to avoid.
• Use the phrase “meatless options” when asking about menu items. It saves you from having to pronounce or confess your dietary preference. I use this phrase often and make discoveries about dishes that aren’t obvious by reading the menu. For example, Chevy’s Fresh Mex offers meat-free black beans as one of their sides. According to a spokesperson from the restaurant chain, “Chevy’s black bean recipe has always been a vegetarian recipe. No pork or other meat is added to the black bean recipe…[which is] is considered vegan as well.” An extra serving of vegetables or roasted potatoes can substitute for the chicken-broth-infused rice available at many restaurants. 
•  Be inquisitive about desserts as well. Lard may lurk in the crust of that slice of apple pie. Pork gelatin may be hiding in that slice of cheesecake.

If you approach your dining-out experience with forethought, humor, and empathy for your busy server, you will, sooner or later, become an expert entrée finagler at your favorite food haunts and impress your dining companions with your “influence.”

I welcome and encourage hearing about your ordering experiences and, especially, about successful meals that resulted from engaging your food server.

The Accidental Fish Smoker

For years, we were the non-grillers among our neighbors. Every grill-worthy holiday or weekend found us hiding out inside while our neighbors were outside grilling up a storm of cow and pig. Our status among the neighbors changed on July 4, 2011, when I bravely (as far as I'm concerned) grilled wild haddock, flounder, tofu hot dogs, and corn-in-the-husk. I don't know why I feared the grill all those years--aside from grilling the occasional fresh tuna steak, which we rarely eat anymore unless it's from pole-caught albacore--but I suspect it was laziness. Setting up the charcoal grill and igniting the 100% natural hardwood briquettes requires more than a little sweat, especially when the patio faces west. Although I should have used recycled aluminum foil, I was seduced by ads for the new non-stick foil.What was most surprising, though, was how the charcoal produced prodigious amounts of smoke and effectively turned the grill into a fish smoker.

Fish and Veggie Dogs on the Grill

Grilled/Smoked Corn

  
If you're curious about Nature's Grilling Hardwood Briquets (their spelling), use a small amount for the first time. This natural charcoal takes 30-45 minutes, a good amount of vegetable oil, and wads of paper towels to ignite. Once it burns and begins to smolder, it will burn for hours upon hours. It burned for nine hours for me. The grilled food was fully infused with smoky flavor, and the super-hot charcoal cooked the fish in about 12 minutes. Here are the recipes:

Grilled/Smoked Fish Fillets

• 4  Boneless fillets of wild Haddock, Pacific Cod, Pacific Halibut, or Tilapia (all best-choice fish according to Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch)
• Canola or Grapeseed oil (for brushing on fillets)
• 1 lime
• 4 sprigs of dill
•  Salt and pepper to taste

If using a charcoal grill, start the flame with all-natural charcoal briquettes, if you can find them, or start the grill with regular charcoal and add flavored wood chips. The wood chips should be soaked in water for 30 minutes and added to the periphery of the burning charcoals to produce smoke.

Prepare fillets by adding salt and pepper on both sides and brushing each fillet with oil. Slice the lime thinly and place two slices on each fillet. Put the fresh dill aside for adding when the fish is almost done. If there is skin on the fish, cook each fillet skin-side down for best results.

Place each fillet in non-stick aluminum foil, skin side down, and wrap fish loosely, with the top partially open to allow smoke to enter. Secure the sides of the foil to avoid a messy situation. Grill for 8 minutes and gently open each packet to judge the remaining grilling time and to add a sprig of dill on top of each fillet. Grill for another 2-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Serves 4


 Grilled/Smoked Corn-in-the-Husk

• 4 ears of fresh corn
• Bowl of room-temperature water
• Melted butter or margerine
• Salt  (optional)

Pull back the husks from the corn, being careful not to remove them. Use a desilking brush (great tool to have) or an unused, soft toothbrush to remove the corn silk. After removing the silks, replace the husks over the corn kernels. Soak corn in the water for 30 minutes. The soaking will keep the husks from catching on fire during grilling. After soaking, place corn in colander and let drain. Add each ear of corn to the grill and allow it to cook for about 30 minutes for a medium-hot grill and 20 minutes for a hot grill.

Pull back husks or remove them for easy eating. Slather corn with butter or margerine, season with salt (or not) and enjoy. 



(If you have a recipe or technique for grilling/smoking fish and vegetables, please include it in the comments section. Thanks!)

My Foodie History in One Paragraph

I was raised on bounty from the Gulf Coast waters near Mobile, Alabama. Deep-sea, river, and bay fishing were my father’s and grandfather’s recreation and avocation.

Old photo of my dad with his catch

I remember fish, shrimp, and crab pouring from pails onto the patio to be divvied among the dads, mine included, who ventured out at 5 a.m. to catch Gulf Coast gold, which, sadly, is not as abundant as it was then. I also remember being surrounded by top-heavy pecan, persimmon, pomegranate, peach, plum, and fig trees that seemed to lean over to deliver their pendants of sweetness right into my hands. I cherish my early experiences with locally available foods that cost my family nothing more than effort and patience to obtain.