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Outrage: Quincy Market joint selling lobster salad rolls that include crawfish
By adamg on Thu, 08/24/2023 - 9:15pm
Boston Eater rips the shell off this tale: Two visitors up from Houston, where they eat crawfish on purpose, ordered a cold lobster salad roll at Boston & Maine Fish Company and realized "what they were eating was not the rich, meaty flavor of an oceanic bug, but rather the lighter, more rubbery flavor of a mudbug."
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Comments
See! I'll say it again. 60
See! I'll say it again. 60 Minutes needs to do an factual eye opener that everything you buy now costs more and a cheaply made. From cleaning products to Oreos to Lobster Rolls to makeup to design clothing.
And...
...nobody will watch it.
Seriously, does anyone watch 60 Minutes? Does anybody find their overdramatized "we'll get to the point but not yet, not yet, not yet" gushiness at all compelling?
Looking at that menu, I would
Looking at that menu, I would certainly not expect the cold lobster roll to have any crawfish in it. Just because they've supposedly been doing it since 1984 does not make it ok.
Boston & Maine should mail this man a check...
and the City of Boston should send him a certificate for exposing this stain on our seafood reputation. Crawfish don't even live in the ocean! Some can survive in seawater but they are a freshwater species not seafood.
Some regulation might be nice
As an autistic person with Sensory Stuff™, it always surprised me how little was required of restaurants in terms of ingredient labeling.
Liars gonna lie
Simply put, they lied for years, they lied when confronted by the Texans, and they lied again calling it a "misconception". And they intend to continue lying.
I generally have the impression that seafood restaurants
are in about the same class as used car dealers. Caveat emptor...
Didn't the Globe do a DNA analysis a few years ago?
If I remember right, they analyzed the fish being served at a number of local restaurants, and discovered that most of them were not serving the fish species they had on the menu, but substituting cheaper varieties of fish.
Scrod
Just remember, New England is the home of "scrod". Its sold everywhere, yet it isn't a specific type of fish (i.e. like Salmon or Swordfish). Rather a group of types of fish that are substituted for each other under the name of 'scrod' so it can be sold cheaply.
Scrod is a pure New England fishery scam. Its just a way to sell cheap fish that couldn't be used as bait or sold as single fish for bargain prices.
The Ground Round was famous for their scrod deals.
More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrod
So glad I dont eat fish.. sounds fishy and scammy.
There’s a key distinction here
“Scrod” is a general term for a class of fishes. It’s a term like “fish” in that it your menu says “fish sandwich” you’re on safe grounds if what you put in the sandwich is actually fish. “Scrod” is not a scammy term.
So
So why not just say what fish it is instead of using a generic term?
If its Cod, say that its Cod. If its whitefish, say its WhiteFish.
Why use the name Scrod at all, unless you are trying to mislead what is being offered.
Probably in the name of flexibility
I would read it as "whatever was cheapest this week".
Why not specific name
Presumably for the same reason that most places selling "fish and chips" or "fish sandwich" use the term "fish" rather than a more specific name.
Mente has this covered
Remember, Scrodliness is Next to Godliness
Sure,we water down our Vodka
But no one has complained.
I actually think I would
I actually think I would prefer the crawfish and lobster combo because iflt gives you multiple textures and different flavor nods but people should have that choice. Maybe call it Shellfish Salad.
As for the refund, many places aren't equipped for remote refunds. I get they are upset but they were physically here and presumably eating this roll nearby. I wouldn't expect a tourist seafood shack to be able to accommodate that sort of long distance return.
Processing the refund
“Not equipped?” You think the owner doesn’t have access to a pen, a checkbook, an envelope, and a stamp? And if he doesn’t have a checkbook, is he too busy adulterating his product to walk his ass into the post office and buy a money order?
Why are you defending this bullshit?
I guess I'm just less
I guess I'm just less infuriated over this than you are. Although I wasn't defending but rather understanding the issue at hand. Although I do thank you for focusing so heavily on one of the most important issues of the day, stay strong and keep fighting the power.
I fucking hate cheaters
Yeah, as a matter of fact I do think that pervasive dishonesty is one of the major issues we face. I fucking hate cheaters. In sports. In gambling. In commerce. And I particularly hate cheaters who cheat the general public. Pervasive dishonesty and lack of accountability are at the root of a lot that’s wrong. Sure, it’s only a lobster roll, and selling a fake lobster roll isn’t a big deal in and of itself, but the personality disorder of which it’s a symptom, is. Cool that you disagree. Keep on defending sociopathy.
Another major problem we face
Another major problem we face in this country is hyper partisan "you are either with us or against us" participants who exist within echo chambers who assign emotions and viewpoints to others angrily on keyboards.
I never said they were right. You can understand without condoning or actively supporting actions. I know it's hard to believe but you can also disagree with someones actions without flipping out. I'd actually make the argument that due to there being two rolls on the menu and the fact that when pulled out it's clear that isn't lobster in there (where as the other one had lobster) and it's been happening for so long that this is more a case of inertia rather than outright deception.
I've worked with hundreds of small businesses and I would have advised any of them to make the "shellfish medley roll" (Fresh and Salty Roll, id workshop it a bit) more distinct. I also personally would have stuffed a fifty in an envelope and sent it to the guy but that's me. Once again you can explain and understand without being a partisan warrior. I'm sorry if you can't grasp that concept and I quote honestly don't care if a bunch of people prop up your angry outbursts in response to my comments. I think it's important we get off the ledges we all seem to be standing on and act more rational.
I'm all for explanation and understanding
I'm all for explanation and understanding, but that's not what you're offering here. And there's nothing partisan about my attitude toward the kind of low-level sociopathy that seems to becoming increasingly prevalent and increasingly tolerated.
I'm sorry, what? Are you arguing that because he's been cheating for a long time, that means it's not cheating?
And, your argument that a small business isn't set up to send anybody a refund, isn't an explanation, it's an excuse, and not even a particularly good one.
If you would have sent the money, why couldn't he?
It seems like a pretty reasonable request and would be a way to save face. Saying that you "can't" send a refund just looks bad, and for what?
Food "cheating" has been
Food "cheating" has been around a long long long time.
I don't hate on crawfish
Having had both a southern seafood boil in Louisiana and a Vietnamese seafood boil in Houston, I think they're delicious.
That being said, crawfish has no place in a lobster roll. If you want a good lobster roll, just drive about 100 miles past Quincy Market to Maine.
Re: "crawfish has no place in a lobster roll"
Surely one malacostracan crustacean is as good as another, if you're into that sort of thing.
They really aren't
I've had both. If you want crawfish you want crawfish, and if you want lobster you want lobster.
By the same token....
Surely one mammal is as good as another, if you're into that sort of thing, by which logic a burger joint that mixes roadkill racoon in with its ground beef should be given a pass on any truth-in-advertising or food labeling regs.
Don't give them ideas...
BOB!
My first crawfish
When I was in college some friends & I drove to New Orleans to stay with one friend's brother who was going to Tulane so we could go to mardi gras.
We arrived at happy hour so drove into the city and went straight to the the F&M Patio Bar where his brother and friends were. You got a free pint of crawfish with every pitcher of beer and right away I knew it was going to be a good trip.
Scallops
The Houston man wondered about the scallops. It was a thing a while back (OK I only remember something from a few decades ago) to stamp skate and call it scallops. Although a quick internet search shows that it is still a common practice.
Reminds me of the former Ritz
I ordered lobster bisque late nite room service woke up later with an allergic reaction and spent the next few hours at NEMC emergency.
I'd had shellfish reactions to crab before but never lobster, shrimp, crawdads, etc. Called the kitchen to say, "hey, what's in the lobster bisque and after a bit of hemming and having, they noted that sometimes they substitute crab."
I, of course, exploded on them like a Beacon Hill entrepreneur would on a lame ass broad daylight tagger. Did not pay for the room (Presidential Suite). Happy birthday hon!!
I now avoid all shellfish;(
is this the same Texan that . . . . .
that asked for scrod in the past pluperfect tense?
Simple past tense passive
“We ordered cod from our supplier but looks like we got scrod”
Suck The Head
Suck The Head