"choosing your lobster" news and stories

We know Valentine's Day is mere weeks away, and for plenty of you coupled-up types, that romantic meal will mean indulging in some lobster -- butter poached, stuffed into plump ravioli, or maybe it will come in the form of a warming bowl of creamy lobster bisque. But for the lobster-bold, part of your Valentine's evening may mean pressing your nose up against the glass of a live lobster tank to choose your entrée while impressing your date. So to help you out a little, we talked to the esteemed Jasper White of Boston's Summer Shack, who shared a few surprising pointers:

If tail meat is your thing, ask the staff to choose a female lobster. Prefer claw meat? Ask for a male. And if you're a little worried about how long the lobsters have been languishing in that tank, the answer is to look at their antennae. Lobsters are cannibals. That's the real reason their claws are banded. But that doesn't prevent them from munching on their neighbors for a snack. If the antennae are stumpy and little, chances are your dinner's been in the tank for awhile.