Quick Links: False Lobster, etc.

False Lobster
Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is lobbying to remove the pelagic crab known as "langostino lobster" from restaurant menus in Maine.
The issue came to light after a California-based restaurant chain, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, was sued last year by customers for using the less expensive langostino instead of lobster in its "lobster burrito."

"Rubio's decision to put cheaper and inferior langostino meat on its menus as 'lobster' is a material fraud uniformly affecting hundreds of thousands of California consumers," plaintiff lawyer Ray Gallo wrote in court documents.

Pine Cone 'Help' Hoax
A careful 'help' was spelt out in pine cones at a junction of two roads in Oregon, complete with an arrow pointing out into the woods. After a nine-person, six-hour search, it was deemed to be a hoax.

Animals Birth/Babies Celebrities Food Pranks

Posted on Mon Oct 09, 2006


Comments

I don't understand the lobster thing. Down here I have seen Monk fish advertised as "poor man's lobster"...so are they saying that only real lobsters can be called lobster? ...
Posted by Maegan  in  Tampa, FL - USA  on  Mon Oct 09, 2006  at  10:51 AM
I think the problem is when you remove the modifiers, such as "poor man's" in front of lobster. Lobster all by itself should mean the real thing -- just as "light beer" means something that is not "real" beer. Likewise "cheese product" isn't real cheese, and so on.
Posted by cvirtue  on  Mon Oct 09, 2006  at  11:04 AM
"Langostino" is a Spanish word meaning, more or less, "crayfish," although the name can also refer to various other smallish crustaceans. ("Langosta" is Spanish for "lobster.") I happen to think crayfish tastes better than lobster, so I wouldn't be too upset by the substitution. However, "langostino lobster" does seem like a bit of a cheat. It's sort of like marketing dog meat as "perro beef," or ant eggs as "hormiga caviar."
Posted by Big Gary, MoHDCiCoF  on  Mon Oct 09, 2006  at  11:21 AM
The Rubio's "lobster" burrito was my absolute favorite thing on their menu, even though it was pretty obvious it wasn't real lobster. They've since removed it from their menu entirely. I think they would have been better off renaming it as "seafood" burrito. It's honest and they can keep their best menu item!
Posted by Razela  in  Chicago, IL  on  Mon Oct 09, 2006  at  11:34 AM
Is this the same thing as the langoustines they had on Iron Chef? Those looked damn good.

Anyhow, what about the other types of lobster? There are other lobsters than the big-clawed Maine lobster. I'm particular to the spiny myself.
Posted by Ponygirl  on  Mon Oct 09, 2006  at  11:35 PM
A few quick copy and pastes

1. The two types of lobster found in the United States are the Northern lobster, which is the basic lobster found on the East Coast. The spiny lobster is found off of the coast of Florida, and is similar to the East Coast lobster except that it has no claws.

2. Langostino is a Spanish word meaning prawn but this term is commonly used in the restaurant trade to refer to the meat of the squat lobster, which is neither a true lobster nor a prawn. It is more closely related to porcelain crabs and hermit crabs.


3. Langostinos should not be confused with langoustes ( spiny lobsters ).
Posted by Chuck  in  Rhode Island  on  Tue Oct 10, 2006  at  02:28 PM
Lobsters are from Maine/New Hampshire/Mass, and anything else is pretense/crap. End of story.

If you have ever tasted "real" lobsters you would have no reason to doubt this.
Posted by Mike H  on  Tue Oct 10, 2006  at  06:05 PM
Right, because nobody could have a different preference in their choice of water bug. 😊
Posted by Ponygirl  on  Tue Oct 10, 2006  at  10:39 PM
The crab meat(for those people who don't know,langostino is a crab)would taste different to lobster meat.I don't understand why they were sued though.

The pine cone hoaxist is very good at this.I can't understand how anyone could think this was a real distress signal.If they were really in distress they wouldn't have had time to do this.
Posted by J  on  Wed Oct 11, 2006  at  12:57 AM
Mike...I CAUGHT lobster in the Keys...It was REAL lobster. I suggest you calm down...
Posted by Maegan  in  Tampa, FL - USA  on  Wed Oct 11, 2006  at  10:56 AM
Real lobsters come from New Hampshire? Only a resident of New Hampshire would try to sell that :lol:

Actually, being a resident of New England I can agree that New Hampshire is a good lobster fishery though the residents of Maine may argue against being lumped in with Mass and N.H.

Also, the European lobster is a 'real' lobster and it is considered by connoisseurs to have a finer texture and flavour than it's American counterpart.
Posted by Chuck  in  Rhode Island  on  Wed Oct 11, 2006  at  11:08 AM
If you have any more questions about lobsters, I found this site: http://www.lobsterhelp.com that has everything you ever wanted to know about lobsters.
Posted by Brandon  on  Sat Jan 20, 2007  at  12:28 PM
Here in NM, Long John Silvers is advertising real langostino lobster. It's the clever bait and switch with a fine print disclaimer. How about a "new" car, or "organic" foods. Sue away.
Posted by Eric  on  Tue Nov 06, 2007  at  06:18 PM
It all sounds "fishy" to me..but I am usually a "crab" about Lobster substitutions.
Posted by MaryAnn  on  Tue Apr 22, 2008  at  09:37 AM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.