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I was going to start this article by waxing poetic on the quintessential mark of summer, from the beating sun to the ocean blue, laddering up to the fact that I think lobster rolls are the answer. And while that’s true, I do love a good buttery roll filled to the brim with chunks of claw and meat, I can only justify a few splurges during the season. Part of it, my wallet. The other, the principle of it all.
Plentiful on the eastern shore, lobsters were once a popular, almost daily consumed commodity that they became known as the cockroach of the sea. Somewhere around the 18th century, lobsters were introduced to the masses at large with the invention of canning and the train system which invited midwestern Americans to try this crustacean fresh from the water. Nowadays, lobsters can run you $20 for a tail, upwards of $30 for a roll and even more expensive at white table clothed establishments. Speaking of pricey, there’s a new hot roll coming to the city this spring with the not so hot price of $40.
Jean-Georges and the Paris import for all things caviar, Caviar Kaspia, are coming together to open The Mark Clam Bar at The Mark Hotel on April 26. Generously billed as a “seafood shack,” the coming streetside eatery parked outside the hotel will feature selections of the sea at prices only Upper East Siders can understand. One singular oyster will run you $7.50, shrimp cocktails are priced at $46 and the opus of it all, the lobster roll (with cherry tomatoes, tarragon and sriracha mayonnaise) is priced at $40. Drinks follow suit where the cheapest glass of wine is the rose at $22, and the most expensive glass, also a rose, is $39. Cocktails include the Aperol Spritz ($27), the Bloody Mary ($24) and the upgraded Bloody Mary Royal ($45) with Kastra Elion vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and pepper, all crowned with Bojoule Oyster with a bump of caviar.
So if you can’t get to the Hamptons this summer but want to spend money like you’ve arrived, the seasonal streetside eatery will be open for lunch and dinner daily from noon to 10pm starting on April 26.