[Fishing for Lobster] Subprime Brought Them To The Menu
Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Friday, November 11, 2011, 5:28 PM
1 Comment
A few years ago I read a fantastic book called The Secret Life of Lobsters. I had picked it up at Barnes & Noble since I had already been making feeble attempts to fish for lobster for a number of years.
I wrote a post on “Lobster Prices And Subprime Lending” back on July 5, 2009, the day after our family’s annual July 4th lobster bake. The 2009 post links out to the book and a great radio interview with Mr. Corson. The book is very well written.
I opted to write about the subject when I read a related article by Mr. Corson in The Atlantic called “The Mystery of Cheap Lobster” which connected lobster fishing and subprime lending. I strongly recommend you listen to his radio interview in my 2009 post.
Fascinating.
The Real Deal stumbled upon my lobster obsession recently and asked me to send a photo for proof of my lobster fishing exploits, publishing it in The Real Deal Magazine in a fun article called “Cheap lobster, courtesy of subprime lending“
I’ve been talking about this issue more and more in public forums because it shows how this credit crisis touched virtually everything and everyone, especially as I usually observe 5-6 lobster-related items on the menu of nearly every restaurant I have been to for the past 2 years.
Lobster has become the Coke syrup of the restaurant business. The cost is so low but the value perception is so high that many new items containing lobster are entering the menus of many modestly priced venues.
Confession: I threw back my first lobster (the one in the photo) and I never became a very good fisherman.
Next time you go out to dinner, be sure to count the number of lobster menu items – you’ll be surprised at how many there are.
Everyone should read The Secret Life of Lobsters! Its one of my all time favorite reads!