Somewhere between filet mignon and caviar in the gamut of gourmet foods, is lobster the red warrior of the sea.
Tuesday night, every Boston University dining hall except Hillel House served this Atlantic delicacy. From West to Myles, hungry students lined up early to get a taste of the famous New England crustacean.
According to Joshua Hubbard, director of dining services, the idea behind Lobster Night is to create excitement and enthusiasm for the residential dining program.
‘A lot of students are new to New England, and this is a very traditional New England meal,’ explains Hubbard. ‘It’s also sort of considered to be a good way to start off the semester and their dining program to treat them to this.’
The purpose of special dining events like Lobster Night is to keep students interested in coming to the residence dining halls, and to try to enhance their quality of life while at school, according to Michael Gilligan, marketing director for Dining Services.
He said he believes students love events like Lobster Night, and BU tries to hold such special events every eight to nine days.
‘We call the events ‘Something Different for Dining,” Gilligan said.
For many students, Lobster Night truly was something different. Yvette Hakim, a School of Management freshman, had only eaten lobster once before Tuesday.
‘I’m from Florida, so getting lobster is a real treat,’ Hakim said. ‘I was very excited when I heard about it. I’m hoping they’ll have more theme nights similar to this.’
India Napier, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, also tried lobster for her first time on Tuesday.
‘I had my first lobster today. It was pretty good,’ said Napier. ‘My friends told me there was poison in it, but then they told me that they lied. The lobster is really good, though. I’m surprised that BU was able to afford it.’
According to Gilligan, special events like Lobster Night do not require additional university spending.
‘It doesn’t cost extra,’ Gilligan said. ‘It’s just a variation from our standard menu selections.’
Lobster Night lures more students to the dining halls than ordinary nights. Hubbard estimated Tuesday afternoon that 5,500 to 6,000 meals would be served, with nearly 4,200 of those would be lobsters.
Although most students who wanted a lobster were able to get one, a handful of students came away empty-handed. By the time Lisa Stidle, a freshman in the CAS, showed up at the Warren Towers Dining Hall around 7 p.m., the lobster was gone.
‘When I got there, I don’t think there was any left,’ she said. ‘I’m very sad about that.’
Although some students were quite disappointed about not receiving a lobster, Dining Services did its best to compensate them.
Chris Lowe, a College of Communication freshman, said a member of the dining hall staff took his name and number so that when more lobster arrived, he would be guaranteed one.
‘I take it that I get to come back here another night and get more lobster,’ Lowe said.
Future events planned by Dining Services include Carnival Dinner on Sept. 17, Breakfast at Dinner and three events in the Visiting Chef Series.
‘Our next event is the Carnival Dinner,’ Gilligan said. ‘That is supposed to be a fun atmosphere, as if you were at a county fair or a carnival. You’ll have items like popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs and cotton candy. The one that comes on the heels of that one is Breakfast at Dinner on Thursday the 25th. That’s always very popular with the students.’