Lobster feeds endure

The perfect get-together

How to throw a lobster feed in a pandemic

Nothing screams summer like Maine lobster dipped in melted butter and as pandemic restrictions lift and vaccinations reach the masses, you’re likely itching for an extra-special get-together with the family and friends you’ve only seen via a screen for far too long. Enter: a lobster feed.

“It’s a great way for people to get back in the swing of things. It’s sort of upscale and unique, but at the same time, it’s very disarming and communal, which I think are the experiences people have really been missing over the last year,” said Ben Koenig, co-owner of Napa Valley Lobster Co.

“We’re hearing from people that ‘This is our everybody is vaccinated party!’ It’s a very big coming out for those folks. They’re finally feeling like they can congregate and they want to do something special to mark the occasion.”

To help you throw a successful and pandemic-friendly lobster feed this summer, we asked the local lobster feed experts, Napa Valley Lobster Co. and Menegon Catering, for their tips and tricks.

1. FIND AN OUTDOOR LOCATION

Lobster feeds may sound a bit high-brow, but they’re definitely not the most refined either. You’re probably not going to break out the good china and it can actually be extremely messy. That’s why outdoors, in a backyard, on a deck, or at a park, is the best place to host one — plus, it’s a safer pandemic environment anyway.

“Any place you don’t care about the carpet,” joked Charles Whittaker, Koenig’s partner in Napa Valley Lobster Co. “It’s a classy event, but I wouldn’t wear satin or sequins because it is a hands-on event. You can try your hardest to be clean, but it’s not as much fun that way.”

JESS LANDER

Menegon Catering

Traditionally, lobster feeds are held at one long communal table topped with butcher paper and old newspaper for easy clean-up. “It spurs on conversation, being elbowto-elbow with family and friends as you’re eating and cracking lobster off the table and squeezing lemons,” said Whittaker. “It’s a really good tactile and experiential experience that really works best in a communal fashion.” That said, smaller tables spread out might be the more pandemic-friendly option.

2. GATHER SUPPLIES AND INGREDIENTS

At the most basic, to pull off a lobster feed you’ll need a large pot, propane, and a larger burner. But the butcher paper and newspaper, bibs, crackers, mallets, and picks, and wet naps will make everything go a lot smoother for both you and your guests.

Plan for one 1 1/4 -pound Maine lobster per person — try Osprey Seafood in Napa — and then you’ll want seasoning and accoutrements, like prawns, red potatoes, sausage, roasted garlic heads (one per person), baguettes, and veggies (corn, onion, artichoke, etc.). The final touches are melted butter, lemon wedges, and Tobasco sauce for the table.

Both Napa Valley Lobster Co. and Menegon Catering provide all of this with their lobster feeds, but if you plan to DIY it, you can pick up bibs, cracking tools, butter warmers, and more at Steve’s Hardware in St. Helena.

3. WATCH YOUR COOKING TIME

The most difficult part of pulling off a successful lobster feed is making sure everything is cooked right. “All of the components are going to cook and finish at a different time period,” said Koenig. “We don’t throw everything in at once. We know which

Darren Brazil photos, Napa Valley Lobster Company

components will take longer and which will take shorter.”

Napa Valley Lobster Co. actually has the option to do your own boil. They provide all of the equipment, raw ingredients, and very clear instructions detailing their “progressive cooking method” so that you can’t mess it up.

4. FIND THE RIGHT WINE TO PAIR

When pairing wine with your lobster feed, think white. Both Whittaker and Menegon recommended Honig’s Sauvignon Blanc as an excellent lobster feed pairing. Other suggestions were the Ultra Brut sparkling from Domaine Carneros, Jessup Cellars’ Sauvignon Blanc, and Somnium Sauvignon Blanc.

“Definitely think about the beverage component because lobster and this experience is a great pairing with great wine,” said Koenig. “Being in Napa Valley, it’s only fitting that you would be intentional about your wine of choice as you indulge.”

5. SET THE MOOD

Whittaker suggests having fun with it by adding music and decorations. Napa Valley Lobster Co. even created their own Chef Ben’s Bayou Ballads Spotify playlist. They give out to all of their lobster feeders.

6. POUR IT OR PLATE IT?

One of the most exciting moments of a lobster feed is when, like a piñata being popped at a birthday party, the big pots are emptied out on the table and in a total frenzy, everyone starts grabbing at lobster and other fixin’s.

But, after more than a year spent in a pandemic and thinking way too much about germs, this might not be as appealing as it once was. So a safer, more sanitary option is instead to plate it, dividing the feed’s contents among each guest.

“The traditional lobster feed is very intimate. Everything is poured on the tables and people are able to pick up their own food with their hands. It’s definitely not a COVID-friendly process, so we suggest people plate their own lobster and food so that when they go to sit they have everything in front of them and they’re not sharing things,” said Courtney Menegon, co-owner of Menegon Catering, which does offer a plated option with their feeds.

7. DIG IN

It’s finally time to eat, but there’s still more work to be done. You’ve got to crack open your lobster and don’t be embarrassed if you don’t really know how. Koenig suggests watching a Youtube video or simply asking the friend next to you for help. Napa Valley Lobster Co. also provides diagrams and video links with their feeds.

“There’s a little bit of a learning curve on the West Coast that we’ve found on how to crack a lobster. There’s certainly a little bit of an intimidation factor — it’s a prehistoric-looking animal that you know tastes delicious, but there’s the head and the tail and the claws,” he said. “People ultimately come up to speed very quickly, but there’s a little dose of unfamiliarity that some people are just confronted with at the beginning of a feed.”

8. CLEAN UP

If you put butcher paper and newspaper down, clean-up should be fairly easy. “You can make your own lobster boil burrito to easily get it into the trash,” said Koenig.

But at the end of the day, if you’re celebrating an occasion or want to enjoy and be present for your event, you may prefer to hire someone to do it all for you, which is where Menegon Catering and Napa Valley Lobster Co. come in.

“From start to finish, there’s no work the individual and party needs to do. All they need to do is come to the table and eat,” said Menegon. “We clean everything up, we take everything with us. You won’t even know we were there once we leave. Personally, I’d rather have someone cook for me than worry about it while I’m trying to be with my friends and family that I haven’t seen in a year.”

Cynthia Sweeney photos, Weekly Calistogan

Rombauer Vineyards Viticulturist Patrick Tokar says adding sheep help diversify the ecosystem within the vineyard. Sheep, like these at Rombauer Vineyards, mow down the cover crop and add natural fertilizer.

ADDING SHEEP TO THE MIX

CYNTHIA SWEENEY editor@weeklycalistogan.com

Rombauer Vineyards diversifies with eco-friendly methods

Rombauer Vineyards launched a pilot program earlier this year, hiring a team of “workers” to bring more ecological ba-aa-alance to the land.

With sheep, that is.

Rombauer owns approximately 650 acres in various counties, including a newly planted 5-acre vineyard on Silverado Trail in St. Helena, which seemed like a good place to test-run the sheep. Patrick Tokar, Rombauer Vineyards viticulturist, said he is working towards diversifying the natural elements within the vineyards, and this year Rombauer wanted to try something different.

“We’re trying to diversity the ecosystem a little more, trying to create a sustainable balance. If we can get away from applying fertilizers and doing this naturally, it fits with our goal,” Tokar said. “The sheep help by bringing a different mix of compost and green manure into the vineyard that we ordinarily wouldn’t have, and it gives the grapes more nutrients.”

Between the vines of the new Sauvignon Blanc plot, Tokar planted a cover crop mix of triticale and beans. When the crop got to be about three feet tall, the sheep were brought in.

Typically, the cover crop would be mowed down and tilled.

“The sheep are like little compost machines, eating and creating compost in different places, which helps to break down the cover crop further,” Tokar said, plus, “With a tractor we can’t get between the smaller spaces.”

The sheep’s work will allow the vineyard to eliminate at least one tractor pass, which also saves on fuel and labor.

“We’ve got free labor with these guys and don’t have to pay overtime,” Tokar said.

The rented sheep are trucked in, and also come with a dog to look over and protect the herd. They are kept within the confines of the vineyard by an electric fence.

These are Suffolk sheep primarily raised for this kind of “work.” It took 100 of them about four weeks to mow through the rows, with the sheep favoring the beans, Tokar said.

“Sheep are grazers, they’ll stay and eat what’s around them,” he said. “Once the triticale started to bud, I don’t know if they’re going to eat much more of it. They don’t like the burrs on the top.”

Sustainable and also cost saving, setting sheep to work grazing

Rombauer Vineyards rented about 100 sheep to “work” their

vineyard in St. Helena on Silverado Trail. Here, they are taking a break from the afternoon sun.

between the vines has been popular in Mendocino and Sonoma counties for a number of years, and is gaining in popularity in the Napa Valley.

“More and more, people are beginning to realize the benefits of using sheep,” Tokar said.

Next, Rombauer is looking at bringing in more sheep for their 170-acre vineyard in the Carneros region, Davitto Ranch, and keep them there from November until about budbreak. Once budbreak starts, the sheep will start nibbling on the tasty green shoots. And that would be a ba-aa-ad thing for the vineyard.

You can reach Cynthia Sweeney at 942-4035 or csweeney@ weeklycalistogan.com.