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I was going to start this article by waxing poetic on the quintessential mark of summer, from the beating sun to the ocean blue, laddering up to the fact that I think lobster rolls are the answer. And while that’s true, I do love a good buttery roll filled to the brim with chunks of claw and meat, I can only justify a few splurges during the season. Part of it, my wallet. The other, the principle of it all.
Plentiful on the eastern shore, lobsters were once a popular, almost daily consumed commodity that they became known as the cockroach of the sea. Somewhere around the 18th century, lobsters were introduced to the masses at large with the invention of canning and the train system which invited midwestern Americans to try this crustacean fresh from the water. Nowadays, lobsters can run you $20 for a tail, upwards of $30 for a roll and even more expensive at white table clothed establishments. Speaking of price, this spring, there’s a new hot roll coming to the city to the tune of $40.
Jean-Georges and Caviar Kaspia at The Mark are coming together to open The Mark Clam Bar at The Mark Hotel on April 26. Billed as a "seafood shack," the coming streetside eatery parked outside the hotel will feature selections of the sea. One singular oyster will run you $7.50, shrimp cocktails are priced at $46 and the opus of it all, the lobster roll (with cherry tomatoes, tarragon and sriracha mayonnaise) is priced at $40. Cocktails include the Aperol Spritz ($27), the Bloody Mary ($24) and the upgraded Bloody Mary Royal ($45) with Kastra Elion vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and pepper, all crowned with Bojoule Oyster with a bump of caviar.
But back to the meat of the matter, is this just the price of lobster rolls these days? At some restaurants, the price seems to track. As of this writing, at Red Hook Lobster Pound, the four-ounce selection is still a hare under $40 at $39.50, but the six-ounce California option will run you $51.50. Neighboring the coming seafood shack, the UES location of Seamore’s is nearly toeing the line, offering their Maine Lobster Roll at $39, while Luke’s Lobster Roll falls in the range of $26 and topping out at $37, depending on whether you get a four-ounce or six-ounce. In Brooklyn, you can find The Crabby Shack (Lobster Roll $34), Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co (Lobster Roll $38) and Grand Banks (Lobster Roll $36). And if you make it up to the Hamptons, you can get the $31 four-ounce Guppy roll or the $39 eight-ounce Whale roll at Shinnecock Lobster Factory. But with the price of inflation affecting supply chains and restaurants as a whole, $40 may soon be the new $30.
The Mark Clam Bar will be open for lunch and dinner daily from noon to 10pm starting April 26.