t s u m m e r g u i d e 2 0 1 7 1 8 1 Tasty Discovery from top: culture passport; boathouse bistro - boothbay From Staff & wire Reports You couldn’t stage a better backstory for Lobster’s fanciest dish. Lobster Thermidor Curious Incident of the The the New York Public Library’s menu data- base has it showing up here around 1907... Here’s a small snapshot showing some NYC establishments that served the dish: $1.75 at the Waldorf in 1915 $1.50 at Delmonico’s in 1917 $3.00 at Klein’s in 1948 $3.75 at the Waverly in 1961 “And in the 1980s, it showed up on the in-flight menu for Air France’s Concorde route from New York to Paris.” Up here in Maine, Boathouse Bistro Tapas Lounge & Restaurant in Booth- bay Harbor does a striking rendition of the French classic ($36 for 1.5 lb.). Pascone’s Ristorante in Bar Harbor proudly offers its “famous 2 lb. Lobster Thermidor” for only the most decadent diner ($64). Whatever you do, avoid following the example set by Batman in the The Lego Bat- man Movie and do not microwave your Lobster Thermidor. Quelle horruer! n I f only it were a secret that Lego Bat- man’s favorite dish in 2017 is Lobster Thermidor. Which is not to say this Pa- risian entree didn’t excite world attention long before CGI body-slammed all things reflective or complex. Thankfully, Jen Carlson at The Go- thamist has been dishing with some deli- cacy on Lobster Thermidor. “Recently I was at a dinner where Lobster Thermidor was being served—I had never had it be- fore, but oddly I had just learned about its origins, so anyone sitting within ear- shot of me at this dinner was treated to a Drunk History-style version of it… Recipes vary, but most involve cheese and a cream sauce… Another often-used main ingredi- ent is brandy or cognac.” Whothoughttoblendlobsterwithcheese withsuchspirits?Itwasallaboutsynergy. “Lobster Thermidor was introduced on January 24th, 1894 at Chez Marie, a well- known Paris restaurant,” Carlson contin- ues. “On that evening Victorien Sardou’s play Thermidor had its first performance at the Comédie-Française. Chez Marie decid- ed to launch his new dish by giving it the name of the play.” Researching both the phenomenon and the show, Carlson discovered “the dish last- ed much longer than the play, which was cancelled after three performances. Ameri- cans never saw it, but it didn’t take too long for Lobster Thermidor to reach the States–