 | |||
| FEATURES | BLOGS | DAILY DIG | GEAR |
Lobster Tales
The sweetest offering of the seas
By JIM STANTON
del.ico.us
reddit!
No seafood embodies New England in the public consciousness more than our favorite crustacean, the Homarus americanus, or common American lobster. Not always considered a delicacy, there are (perhaps tall) tales of Boston dockworkers going on strike and prisoners complaining because they were being served lobster more than two times a week. Now such stories are laughable, as the pricey treat is served at the most exclusive enclaves imaginable.
Perhaps no purveyor of this tasty morsel is more iconic in Boston than James Hook & Co., with their legendary building marking the entrance to the South Boston waterfront. James Hook, third generation owner, sat down with us to give some insight into the business of how the red shell gets onto your plate. Hook is proud of his family's business. "I've worked here since I was a kid. My grandfather started 85 years ago, my father worked here and now we have kids from the next generation around."
Despite a tragic fire that destroyed their Atlantic Avenue headquarters just over a year ago, they've reopened the retail location on the same spot in a modular structure, although have had to temporarily move the wholesale operation down the street to Marine Industrial Park. "We're definitely going to be here, we're not going anywhere," Hook clarifies, in response to recent reports that the family is planning to sell the land and move. "It just takes a while to get all the permits in order. We're committed to staying right here."
Hook is one of the largest players in the lobster game. "We have lobster come in every day, sometimes 50,000 to 100,000 pounds a day." While they no longer have the boats their grandfather used in Maine, they now buy from lobstermen up and down the coast. "We have such volume that we have to lock in contracts. We get lobster from as far away as Maine and Canada." I'm curious if fishing regulations affect the lobster business, as they do the cod fishermen. "Not so much. There's a quota as to how much you can pull, not limits on days like the other fisheries. The weather affects it more—from late November to May, the lobsters don't move as much, so it's harder to get them into the traps. We get lobster all year, but it's harder in the winter."
While most people know of them from the walk-in and mail-order outlets, a huge percentage of their revenue is wholesale. "We do a lot of retail, but an individual coming in and placing a $100 order just can't compete with a distributor ordering $60k-$70k." And as to who those customers are? "Everybody. We sell to restaurants here in Boston, we sell to other, smaller distributors—everybody." Locally, you can have your Hook lobster served to you anywhere from the classic Chart House or Park Plaza Hotel, to the newer Saraceno or Villa Francesca in the North End. "And we sell it all different ways—live lobsters, cooked knuckle meat for lobster rolls. We're kind of known for the meat."
JAMES HOOK & COMPANY
15 NORTHERN AVE., BOSTON
617.423.5501
JAMESHOOKLOBSTER.COM
CHART HOUSE
60 LONG WHARF, BOSTON
617.227.1576
CHART-HOUSE.COM
PARK PLAZA
50 PARK PLAZA, BOSTON
617.426.2000
BOSTONPARKPLAZA.COM
RISTORANTE SARACENO
286 HANOVER ST., BOSTON
617.227.5888
SARACENOS.COM
RISTORANTE VILLA FRANCESCA
150 RICHMOND ST., BOSTON
617.367.2948
RISTORANTEVILLAFRANCESCA.COM
