I posted a thread earlier about going to Cape Cod and asked for advice about a romantic dinner. It's Mrs. michaelr's birthday and I thought instead of taking her out, I'd prepare a lobster picnic in style. We are going to stay at the Oceanedge resort in Brewster on Saturday the 30th. I think I can pull everything off but need two recommendations:

Where do I get the lobster? I want to say precooked at this point as I can't see how I can actually get water to boil. I know not perfect...ideas welcome.

Where is a good place to picnic that is close to Brewster? It would have to have a grill to reheat the lobster if necessary.

something like this ?

You might want to call the hotel. At a hotel of this calibur, I am sure the concierge or staff there could arrange something ahead of time. Mind you, it may be the most expensive lobster dinner you've ever had, but it is an option. Or perhaps they can at least give you some ideas.

Ordered like that would be out of question price-wise.

The gas cooker from above looks like a great idea. Thanks.

Yahoo is showing the following seafood restaurants in Brewster, start calling around, I'm sure many of them will do a take out for you (ask they precrack the lobster for you so it's not a romantic mess)

Brewster Fish House, (508) 896-7867 2208 Main St Brewster, MA

J T's Seafood (508) 896-3355 2689 Main St
Brewster, MA

Laurino's Tavern (508) 896-6135 3668 Main St Brewster, MA

Linx Restaurant (508) 896-8251 832 Villages Dr Brewster, MA

Ocean Edge (508) 896-9000 2907 Main St Brewster, MA

Reef Cafe (508) 896-7167 195 Villages Dr
Brewster, MA

Spark Fish (508) 896-1067 2671 Main St
Brewster, MA

They are also showing the following for Lobster, can't say if they offer to cook them for you, but many fish markets will steam stuff you purchase from them for little or no cost

Breakwater Fish & Lobster Co (508) 896-7080 235 Underpass Rd Brewster, MA

Cold (even room temp) lobster, by the way, is also wonderful, I wouldn't worry about the grill.

If you do have a grill you can just cook the lobsters on the grill you don't have to boil them at all.

You can just cut them in half lengthwise, put meat side down for four minutes, turn over, cook another three or four minutes, and enjoy (more time for larger ones, cooler fires, etc). Most people don't like the idea of cutting it open when it's live, so they boil it for a couple of minutes first.

My last tip, a shot of Meyer's rum in the melted butter makes for a very good lobster meat dip.

[This message has been edited by cordelli (edited 08-22-2003).]

Unless you have a good deal of experience cooking lobsters, and unless you're certain that your wife isn't squeamish, I would strongly advise against trying to cook them yourself.

If you boil them, you'll be picking them up in your hands while they're alive and (probably very) active, then sending them off to their final reward by dropping them into the boiling pot of water.

If you grill them, you'll be picking them up in your hands while they're alive and (probably very) active, then sending them off to their final reward by plunging a knife into them.

Which of those two sounds more romantic?

Precooked. No doubt.

Thanks, cordelli. Just called them and ordered two, precooked. Price was $10/pound which I thought was reasonable.

Does anyone know a good place to picnic in the area?

Yet another thread proving that on FT you can get an answer to just about anything. Enjoy your lobster, er, lobstah!

Nickerson State Park is right around the corner.

Wow, since I love the 1.25 to 1.5 pound ones that would make for a very good meal. That's quite good to know. Remember all the accessories you will need to eat them, nut crackers, lots of napkins, cork screw (for the wine, but could come in handy for getting the claw meat our if the nutcracker isn't up to it), etc.

Just a quick follow up:

Everything worked out very nicely, thanks to this forum. I got two precooked 1.25-1.5 lobsters at the market mentioned above. Highly recommended. The lobster are cooked in 15 minutes intervals and come out steaming. We then went to the Nickerson State Park (less than 2 miles away). The first time around I forgot the picnic basket at the hotel. So after a quick turnaround we went to the picnic area in the park which is on a beach right by the lake. The beach, the lake, a moderate amount of insects I am not sure how it could have been better. Well, there is a fairly steep 20 foot decline but the reward is worth the effort.

On a side note, I pricelined the Oceanedge resort which is very close by. We ended up in what I would call a one bedroom apartment which we got for $150/night over labor day weekend. Was it worth it? Probably not. For a family it's great but in retrospect a B&B in Chatham would have been more rewarding as we didn't use any of the resort's fascilities. On top of that the Oceanedge village that they put us in was about a 1/2 mile from the actual property necessitating a drive if you want to use the beach, rec room, etc. Still, it's a very nice property.

- Michael