Lobster – Maine’s Famous Delicacy

Forty years ago, Bernd David, a German who found Marco Island a short time after I did, opened a restaurant on the island at the Chamber of Commerce Plaza. It was named Captain’s Corner. Today, it is called “SpeakEasy,” and every old-timer on the island remembers it because of the atmosphere created by his wife, Karin, who decorated it lavishly with a mixture of antique and “junktique” décor embellished by colorful paintings. It was the coziest restaurant on Marco Island. The big back windows overlooked the water. She also added tables, chairs, and decorations in the building’s walkway to offer a warm welcome to clients from all over the world. 

Despite some delicious dishes, including a Wiener Schnitzel that was one of the best I have ever eaten, the restaurant was not getting sufficient business. Probably the main reason was the location at the back of the plaza. Although overlooking the water, it was out of view of nearby Collier Boulevard and tourism like we experience here today was still years away. 

One day, brainstorming with Bernd over a bottle of German wine, I told him about a contact I had in Miami for fresh Maine lobsters. He made an agreement to have the delicacy delivered every Tuesday morning and after a few weeks of advertising their Tuesday Lobster Specials, the business took off. Served with hot melted butter, it was deliciously and authentically Maine right down to the white plastic bib printed with a large red lobster on the front. Captain’s Corner became a favorite restaurant in Collier County and on Tuesdays, the lines were out the door. 

That is now history as, sadly, Bernd and Karin separated, and the restaurant closed. The unit at the Chamber of Commerce was empty for several years, was leased to a mortgage company for some time and eventually was bought by well-known restaurateur Marco Islander Tim McCoy and partners, who created a new vibe with extensive renovations under the name “SpeakEasy.” To this day, when I splurge on a Maine lobster dinner, I still think back on this hard working couple of those two people whose introduction of the Tuesday night lobster specials took their restaurant to a new level of popularity. 

The cold-water lobster is a sea crustacean with 10 legs, two claws – their main body weight - and eight small legs for walking on the seafloor. The record weight of a Maine lobster stands at 77 lbs., a record not broken since 1977. Not only can they walk forward, but also backwards with the aid of their tail. They keep growing as long as they live, continuing to outgrow their shell as they grow a new one. During this molting period, they often eat their old shell. The high protein and calcium content help harden the new shell.

Lobster dates back all the way to the 1600s but became more prevalent some three hundred years later, so much so that after a storm, people could just go to the beaches of the northwest Atlantic Ocean from Labrador in Canada to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina and scoop up the delicacy from the sand. This abundance led to using it as cattle feed and fertilizer because of the nutritional values described above. It was also considered food for disadvantaged people and a regular staple in prisons. It was so popular that work contracts for laborers including daily meals often had inserts limiting lobster to twice a week. Normally, the lobster prefers cold water and is found at a relatively low depth from 15 to 165 feet, although they have been caught as far down as 1500 ft. Their habitat is under and around rocks where they can hide from predators. Lobster caught near the Florida Keys and further south in the Caribbean is so-called “warm water” lobster. They do not have big claws like the cold-water lobster and only the tail is edible. The meat is more firm and although also good eating, does not have the tender sweet taste of the Maine lobster.

There is a legend that the Rockefellers had a special dinner planned at their mansion on Mount Desert Island in southeastern Maine. The lobster dinner planned for the staff was mistakenly served to the guests and they were so taken by the taste that the rest is history. 

During WWII, lobster was already considered a specialty and therefore was not rationed, thus finding a whole new group of aficionados. Today, North Atlantic lobster is considered a delicacy and fetches prices that have gone through the roof ever since the Chinese discovered a taste for lobster in 2017 which created a massive export business. Sales decreased during the Covid years, a bad winter in 2020/21, and now the trade war with China. However, prices remain quite high, and most of us need to consider it a special event to justify dining on this unique looking crustacean. My first lobster encounter was many years ago as a guest at the upscale Lusitania restaurant in Ostend, Belgium. Normally, European restaurants serve half lobsters. The meat is cleaned from the shell and returned with a mix of a mayonnaise-based sauce. Another delectable recipe that is well known in the USA is the originally French dish, Lobster Thermidor. The meat is extracted and cooked in a rich egg yolk and cognac sauce, topped with an oven-browned Gruyere cheese crust. But my real introduction was during my first visit from Europe to Maine when I was introduced to a real Maine lobster feed from a huge steaming platter of bright orange-red lobsters. The original color of most lobsters is a brownish green but changes to red during the cooking process.

At the time, I had no idea what to do with these colorful crustaceans on the table. Quite frankly, served whole they look like giant cockroaches. Once over that comparison, the Mainers taught me how to extract every last morsel of the sweet meat. Today, I am an expert and can hardly wait to dip the pieces in warm melted butter. Eaten properly Maine style, it is positively delicious!

A very helpful Dottie Yunger, Director of the Education Division at the Maine Department of Marine Resources, was kind enough to forward photos of lobsters with exceptional colors like an unusual dark blue, yellow, and calico.

Ewout Rijk de Vries and his wife, Jill, brought America Travel Arrangements to Marco Island 40 years ago. They specialize in high-end small adventure tours and small safari groups for clientele all over the world, but also are experts on high end cruises with the help of longtime assistant and friend Michelle Wegman. In combination with his writing and photography, Ewout has visited over 100 countries. Please direct your comments or questions to ewout@americatravelarrangements.com as he likes to hear from readers.