Text 27995, 127 rader
Skriven 2009-08-29 02:27:26 av MANNY ROTHSTEIN (1:123/140)
Ärende: The Night of the Claw,  pt.1 
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Last night I went out for dinner at a local Chinese seafood 
restaurant. I decided in advance that I would either have 
Maine lobster or spotted prawns. I first heard of spotted 
prawns last summer in a newspaper article, which is kind of 
strange since they are caught in local waters. Perhaps it 
is because they are caught in small quantities by traps in 
deep water and not by nets. Also they don't keep well, like 
lobster, and are normally sold live. The prawns were my first 
choice and the lobster was plan B. They were on the menu at 
$10 a pound, a very good price here on the west coast. With 
the waitress, I went to the fish tanks and realized there 
were no prawns so I asked for a 2 1/2lb lobster. She put on a 
rubber glove and reached into a crowded tank and pulled out a 
lobster of about the right size, but without claws! Of course 
I rejected that one, so she pulled out another one with one 
claw. It looked like a left winger to me, so I rejected that 
one as well. After a bit of difficult conversation, since she 
barely spoke English and I speak no Chinese at all, she 
pulled out a 3 1/2 pounder with both  claws and I settled for 
that. After ordering a few other odds and ends, I settled back 
with great anticipation since I haven't had a lobster since 
Dave's previous Enfield picnic. At last the lobster 
arrived. It was served in a large platter, with the one inch 
of face at one end, the tail fin at the other, and the rest of 
the lobster, minus the innards, in a mixed jumble of shell 
encased lobster chunks. I tucked right in and it was 
delicious. But after I leaned back from the initial food rush, 
I noticed something "fishy". I could only see one claw on the 
platter! I started re-assembling the bug and it soon became 
clear that not only was one claw missing, but so was most of 
the tail. I was so stunned, that it took me a couple of minutes 
to realize that not only had the kitchen cheated me, but to add 
insult to injury, they must have thought that I was to stupid 
to notice. When I raised my objections to the manager (owner?) 
and a couple of waitresses, the first response was denial, 
than inability to understand what I was saying, and then 
finally, when they realized that there tap dancing wasn't going 
to work with me, they offered a replacement lobster. I wanted 
to leave on the spot but reluctantly settled for the make up 
lobster as a reasonable redress. Upon returning to the fish 
tanks, I was surprised to see a fresh batch of live spotted 
prawns being delivered. Pressing my advantage, I switched my 
order to prawns, selected 6 large ones that weighed a pound 
and was delighted to realize I had achieved all my goals in 
one night. I ordered that the prawns be served whole and 
looked forward to experiencing what was so special about these 
elusive shrimp. The answer is that they have the same taste 
and texture as lobster, only the taste is not quite as intense. 
They are very good, but lobster is better and they cost $20 a 
pound, twice what the lobster cost that night. Some how, I 
snatched victory from defeat and left the restaurant a happy 
man, but the strangest part of all was that after the shrimp 
arrived, one of the waitresses started hanging around me like 
she was happy with the way I had acted and even gave me an 
unsolicited free dessert. I left a decent tip. 

Manny




































































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