Out of Class in Boston

I was in Boston last week for a professional development course. There were 75 students in my class, representing 23 different countries. My first impression was that I didn't have much in common with my classmates. But, beer has a way of coaxing out similarities. I bonded most quickly with my commonwealth brethren. Two Aussies and a Brit. We went to the Barking Crab for dinner one night, in search of a unique Boston experience. Unique is definitely what we got.

Situated on the south bank of the Charles River, the infamous crab shack starkly contrasts the refined downtown Boston buildings that stand just across the river. The patch-worked plywood that comprises the restaurant's interior walls is nicely complemented by a casually hung black tarp, which serves as the ceiling. The ambient music, an whimsical mix of mid-90s rap and soft-rock, is the finishing touch on this masterpiece.

A few of us were quick to choose the locally procured Jonah crab. The waitress advised us that they were out of our first choice, but that they had plenty of lwab-stah left. We fell for it. Only a few minutes later a man from the kitchen burst into the room showing off a live Jonah crab to the table beside us. What's up with that?

If I ever had any illusions about lobster being a classy dish, they were shattered by this meal. It wasn't because my dinner was served to me in a bucket. Nor was it because I had to wear a disposable plastic bib to protect me from my dinner. It was the act of ripping open the limbs and torso of a dead animal with my bare hands that struck me as particularly unclassy. This wasn't helped by the lobster juice that would squirt in my face upon cracking a particularly tenacious limb.

It was a full physical effort to unleash the meat. No delicate task. The Brit in our group managed to spill lobster juice all over his pants in a particularly vigorous effort. I can only imagine that he felt a bit like the woman in this picture when he went to bed that night.

The lobster was tasty, but I think I'll try the crab cakes next time.