Lobster

Back when Bill Clinton was running for president for the first time, my Chicago cousin announced that he was too cynical to vote because Democrats and Republicans had become so much alike he had lost all sense of distinctions. "Tweedledum and Tweedledee," he used to say. Both parties are completely compromised by big business and status quo politics, he said. There was a permanent political class in America — a big tent that covers Republicans and Democrats, their affluent friends, special-interest lobbyists and influential insiders.

Meet Eddie. Eddie is a calico lobster. He is one in 30 million, give or take. Eddie is in safe hands now with the Profish Seafood Company of Washington, D.C. John Rorapaugh, Profish's director of sustainable initiatives, says that Eddie has been sequestered from the other lobsters so that someone doesn't accidentally sell him.  The sharp-eyed lobster spotter, Rorapaugh said, was Peter Martone, Profish's lobster buyer, who saw the calico, named...

Elizabeth Gilbert's first novel takes on a humble subject in an understated style; its modest brilliance sneaks up, though the story will probably hook you on page one. Affectionately true to its characters' nutty integrity, "Stern Men" (Houghton Mifflin, 304 pages, $24) tracks the reluctant evolution of an old island lobstering community from its time-honored brand of brutal individualism to kinder, gentler ways of doing business. The catalyst of change is Ruth Thomas, a daughter of the island just back from boarding school on the mainland, looking for a purposeful life to live on Fort Niles.

Michael Phelps' latest love interest is 22-year-old Sarah Herndon, according to an interview with the waitress/model from California (the same description as his previous flame, Megan Rossee, whom he dumped just after Christmas). He and Herndon met in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, just before Christmas; fished for lobster in the Bahamas after the holidays and had an evening of sushi and "Zero Dark Thirty" back in Baltimore. Here's a report. By Hugo Daniel For Coleman-Rayner Michael Phelps charmed his latest love interest on a romantic lobster fishing trip - jumping into the water and joking, "This is my home, too, you know.” Sarah Herndon was whisked to the Bahamas by the Oympic champion for a romantic five-day break of fishing, snorkeling and tropical sunsets.

It's nice to splurge. Even when rushed on a weeknight, you may run across times when a celebration is in order. Bring out the lobster, I say! Stashed neatly in your freezer, of course, ready to be thawed quickly and turned into a festive main-dish salad. Be as generous as you like. This salad is imminently flexible, so you can serve as much lobster in it as you can afford. And, if this is all too fancy for you, shrimp makes an excellent stand-in. Serve with a flute of champagne, some crusty bread and a chocolate tart and you'll soon forget that it's just a weeknight.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore certainly has room for Lincoln, the celebrated white lobster of Raymond, Maine. And it's sure he or she would generate a lot of public interest.But so far, nobody has decided whether to put in a bid for the albino beastie, which his current owners, the Fishermen's Net fish market, have decided to auction.But if you happen to buy it, Morris Martick will cook it up for you at his Restaurant Francais -- any way you like it."If you're willing to pay for it," qualifies Martick, who, oddly enough, has cooked a lobster in a demonstration at the aquarium.

Oregon has the Lewis and Clark Trail. The Grand Canyon has the Bright Angel Trail. New England has the Lobster Trail. It doesn't? Well, it should. Think of it, a gustatory path from Connecticut to Maine built on the red shells of lobsters: boiled, broiled, steamed, baked -- in eggs, in crepes, in phyllo dough, even in ice cream. This hike is not for everyone. Not for, say, the couple from the Midwest overheard at a downtown Bar Harbor, Maine, restaurant as they laid horrified eyes on their first boiled lobster dinner.

Adhering to the mouthparts of a lobster like a suction-cup toy and sweeping up the lobster's errant food particles like a living napkin is a tiny animal whose anatomy and life cycle are unlike anything seen before, scientists have reported.The creature is so unique in its style and appearance that the biologists who discovered it have given it not just its own species name, or its own genus or its own family, but have moved way up the classification scale and declared that it is an entirely new phylum.

RAYMOND, Maine -- Bill Coppersmith says the traffic in his fish market here has never been so intense, "what with visits by curious folks and the television and newspapers."Coppersmith, a 20-year veteran of lobster fishing off Casco Bay, looked over at his holding tanks at the cause of all the attention."It's the white lobster," he said."There's none anywhere else, and now I've caught it, and the whole world wants to have a look."Coppersmith, 40, held forth at his Fishermen's Net store between interviews with reporters for London television and a Japanese newspaper.

WALPOLE, Maine -- The small white buoys bobbing on the bright blue water of the Damariscotta River mark this as a dangerous spot for lobsters.Tethered to each buoy is a line that reaches down to a lobster pot on the river bottom.In 1997, the state's 6,500 lobstermen tended 2.6 million traps and hauled in 47 million pounds of lobster, a record that was repeated last year and looks likely to be matched this year.Along most of the northern Atlantic seaboard, including the maritime provinces of Canada, lobster catches are at all-time highs and have defied biologists' predictions of a crash.

The Patriots' coach might be a sore loser, but Boston mayor Thomas Menino has sportingly made good on the losing bet he made with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on the AFC Championship game.  A package filled with goods from Boston's public markets arrived at Baltimore City Hall on Friday. Inside were cannoli, ravioli, various packaged goods and an assortment of seafood, including mussels, scallops, oysters -- and four live lobsters. Rawlings-Blake, who was not in Baltimore on Friday, will be making a visit next week to the Cottage Avenue Community , the Park Circle transitional housing program for homeless families she chose as the recipients of the package.

Not too far from the chaos of Ocean City lies the gorgeous Rt. 54 also known as Lighthouse road. A few really great restaurants are set up right on the water and the Lobster Shanty is definitely a gem on the marsh. I had the pleasure of working at The Shanty last summer and besides having the best job at the restaurant of running the parking lot and working valet, which allowed me to relax and talk to patrons outside, I got to sample the food and have a few drinks there myself. The menu is frankly stacked.

You've heard of once in a blue moon, but what about once in a blue lobster? The crew of The Potluck fishing boat came up with a sparkling catch last week off the shores of Ocean City: a rare blue lobster. Capt. John Gourley brought in the blue lobster with his normal catch to Martin Fish Co. in West Ocean City, where he typically sells his lobsters in the retail market. But a different fate awaits Toby, as the cerulean crustacean is now known. Weighing a little more than a pound, the lobster is destined for the National Aquarium in Washington, according to Ginger Nappi, the assistant manager of Martin Fish Co., where the lobster is currently residing in a tank until aquarium officials arrive.

You'd expect a Baltimore restaurant to compete in crab cake competition, but Thames Street Oyster House is contending for a big lobster roll prize. The event is Tasting Table's third annual Lobster Roll Rumble, which will take place in New York City on June 7. You can take a look at event information and photographs of all 20 contenders here So, how did a Baltimore restaurant come to have a contending lobster roll. Turns out chef Eric Houseknecht stayed in Providence after graduating form Johnson & Wales University.

It was a roaring hot day, and the dark, cozy bar and dining room inside One-Eyed Mike's was packed. "It's an hour wait if you want to be seated inside," a bartender said. "We can seat you immediately outside. " That was fine with us — the dining area at One-Eyed Mike's is open and bright, and feels like a garden party. The atmosphere is certainly worth a trip. But it's hard to say the same for the food. Hidden off Broadway from the rest of Fell's Point watering holes, One-Eyed Mike's serves an older crowd — despite its pirate theme.

Arlene Bird from Sonoma, Calif., was looking for the recipe for the rich and delicious cheese biscuits that are served warm with every order at the Red Lobster restaurant chain. She clearly is not be alone in her craving for these biscuits because Shirley Zehner from Baltimore sent in a copy of the recipe that was published in the August 1994 issue of Ladies' Home Journal. Just like Bird, several readers had written to the magazine and asked them to obtain the recipe for the biscuits from the restaurant chain.

Michael Phelps' latest love interest is 22-year-old Sarah Herndon, according to an interview with the waitress/model from California (the same description as his previous flame, Megan Rossee, whom he dumped just after Christmas). He and Herndon met in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, just before Christmas; fished for lobster in the Bahamas after the holidays and had an evening of sushi and "Zero Dark Thirty" back in Baltimore. Here's a report. By Hugo Daniel For Coleman-Rayner Michael Phelps charmed his latest love interest on a romantic lobster fishing trip - jumping into the water and joking, "This is my home, too, you know.” Sarah Herndon was whisked to the Bahamas by the Oympic champion for a romantic five-day break of fishing, snorkeling and tropical sunsets.

Every neighborhood needs a place like Szechuan Taste. A place you can go for reliably decent food at sensible prices. A place where the music is soothing and the staff behaves with low-key courtesy. A place where you'll feel at home even if you don't feel like dressing up and putting out a lot ofeffort.At Szechuan Taste you won't feel like you're slumming, though. This Parkville place is in a shopping center, but isn't one of those Formica-clad carry-outs. (Although you can carry out, of course.

Back when Bill Clinton was running for president for the first time, my Chicago cousin announced that he was too cynical to vote because Democrats and Republicans had become so much alike he had lost all sense of distinctions. "Tweedledum and Tweedledee," he used to say. Both parties are completely compromised by big business and status quo politics, he said. There was a permanent political class in America — a big tent that covers Republicans and Democrats, their affluent friends, special-interest lobbyists and influential insiders.

How much does it matter to you that a restaurant feel local? This is the question I was mulling over as I had an enjoyable meal at the new Real Seafood Co. in Annapolis. The small, Michigan-based chain delivers decent food, professional service, a handsome setting and, well, a fun evening. But it feels like a restaurant that could be almost anywhere - in Maryland, Michigan, Florida, Ohio. (And indeed it is in those four places.) If that doesn't bother you, you'll have a fine time there.