Lobster chili nachos break some culinary seafood rules
Seafood – and its disappearance from menus – has been a hot topic this summer.
At the Lobster Roll, a popular seafood shack in Amagansett, N.Y., also known locally as “Lunch,” thanks to its giant sign, co-owner Andrea Anthony hasn’t had to drop her restaurant’s signature shellfish from the menu, but prices are up. She’s paying $40 to $42 per pound for lobster, upward of $7 more than last year.
Still, the rolls are a mainstay. “We sell about 800 a day, 1,000 when it’s busy,” she says. Orders are a pretty even mix of hot-dressed in drawn butter-and cold, made into a salad with a secret-recipe mayonnaise; heat waves push up sales of the chilled preparation.
About 10 years ago, Anthony and her business partner, chef Paul DeAngelis, came up with the idea to expand the boundaries of how they could serve the shellfish: lobster chili that features in a plate of nachos. And they broke some culinary seafood rules doing it.
For one thing, the chili is flavored with red wine, which is almost never paired with seafood. More irreverent, it’s topped with mounds of shredded cheese before it’s put in the oven.
DeAngelis says he got the idea from watching a televised chili competition. “I saw turkey – I saw all these unusual kinds – but not seafood,” he says. He created a version he liked, made with firm shellfish (shrimp, scallops and lobster) that would hold up in a saucepan; he advises against using fish fillets, which would disintegrate in the sauce.
Anthony saw it as an opportunity to extend their season, when temperature starts sliding. “Nachos are such a comfort food,” she says. “We were looking for something that would attract a fall crowd. It was unexpectedly well-received, so we kept it on the menu.” She estimates they sell 150 orders a day.
The nachos will be featured on the menu at the new Lobster Roll aka Lunch, opening in Southampton in November, where the menu will also include seafood and cheese pairings such as lobster mac and cheese. One reason Anthony likes the nachos is that they’re a value proposition, at least as far as the Hamptons is concerned. The lobster rolls are market priced, currently $31.95. The nachos are $18.95 and meant to be shared.
They’re also a fun dish. To make them, DeAngelis tucks the seafood into a well-spiced tomato and bean mixture; the red wine deepens the flavor. They’re then layered with tortilla chips in a baking dish, along with grated cheddar, and put into a hot oven for a couple of minutes. The mild cheese adds a salty and tangy accent to the seafood and melty texture to the chips, but what pulls it together is the refreshing sour cream dollop on top.
One more thing:
“They’re a great pairing with a margarita,” says Anthony. “You know nachos and margaritas go well together. Seafood nachos and margaritas go well together, too.”