Ever the trendsetter, Martha Stewart took to Instagram earlier this week to post a somewhat - shall we say - unusual dinner she had at New York's Maison Barnes, the new (and very swanky) "dining salon" attached to acclaimed French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud's Café Boulud.
While some of the snaps look rather enticing, there's one particular pic that's drawing comments in droves. Stewart nonchalantly describes the dish in her post as "roast chicken and lobster." While I'm sure it's delicious, the presentation is ... off-putting. I'm being nice. My kid would call it cringey. I just call it unholy.
A Chobster Isn't Pretty
Think turducken, but with lobster. Presented on a cutting board garnished with herbs and seashells (to what? Make the lobster feel at home?), the lobster's head is tucked into the chicken cavity as if to replace the chicken's head. At first glance, it actually looks like the head is coming out of the wrong (is there a right?) end. The lobster tail is laid precisely over the chicken's bottom, and the claws are not-so-cleverly placed to the chicken's sides as if to wave hello to (or straight up frighten) unsuspecting diners.
Bizarre Dish Sparks Social Media Frenzy
The post has been liked nearly 30,000 times, but it's the comments that will send you. One IG user asked, "What in the AI fever dream is happening here?" while another commented that the dish seems like a PETA hate crime. My personal fave: "Chicken of the sea. Whoa I get it now."
Martha certainly seems to be taking a lot of heat for a creation that isn't hers - likely attributable to her nonchalant approach to posting a photo of what can only be described as what one Instagram commenter called "a lobstrosity." A quick scan of Maison Barnes' dinner menu mentions a shareable "Poularde Homardine, Sauce Nantua," described as a duo of roasted Sasso chicken and lobster bisque sauce with spring rice - but Stewart's photo doesn't encompass any rice or lobster bisque sauce. Perhaps it was a specialty prepared just for her.
And while I'm sure the dish is most likely delicious (Daniel Boulud doesn't disappoint), this feels like I've witnessed a hate crime involving a lobster wearing a chicken suit. You know what they say - you eat with your eyes first. When it comes to this one, someone had better blindfold me, or I'll likely starve.
