Drink or Appetizer: Sorting Out the Definition of Lobster Shooter

Although the staff at Abacus doesn't consider the restaurant's lobster scallion shooters a beverage, the Food Network this week featured the liquid dish on its drink edition of The Best Thing I Ever Ate. "It's not actually a drink," Kent Rathbun's assistant Abir Sower said. "I don't know why they'd...

By Hanna Raskin

September 7, 2010

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Although the staff at Abacus doesn't consider the restaurant's lobster scallion shooters a beverage, the Food Network this week featured the liquid dish on its drink edition of The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

"It's not actually a drink," Kent Rathbun's assistant Abir Sower said. "I don't know why they'd put it as a drink. It's one of our most popular appetizers."

Apparently semantics didn't bother Food Network personality -- and former Keller resident -- Melissa d'Arabian, who selected the appetizer/drink/whatever. Since the fried lobster shooters are served in sake cups, sans utensils, it managed to qualify for "best thing" honors alongside the Clover Club's gin blossom, Barrio Chino's grapefruit margarita and two ice cream sodas from Philadelphia's Franklin Fountain.

The shooters are the third area edible to show up on this season of The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Lonesome Dove's grilled tomahawk chop and Good to Go's Paris taco appeared in earlier episodes.

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Drinks debuted last night, and will be rebroadcast Sunday at 2 p.m.

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