It is just before Thanksgiving in Alicante and time for Monastrell’s annual Boston-style lobster and clam bake. Well maybe it’s more appropriate to call it Michelin chef María José San Román’s Boston clam bake. Either way, it was an event not to be missed had Jorge not come down with a major cold bug that he didn’t care to share with other guests. So I was on my own for a late afternoon, free-flowing feast of epic proportions.
About 100 guests joined in as the Monastrell team loaded the long tables with lobster, clams, crabs, crayfish, shrimp, potatoes (sweet and gold), artichokes, corn, onions, and hot dogs (yep, hot dogs and I was hoping for some great Spanish chorizo). Everyone donned their requisite lobster bibs, grabbed a never-ending glass of wine and got down to the seriously-messy business of extracting sweetmeat from the crustaceans by hand. No flatware for this event, just a handful of nutcrackers to share. I was dripping up to my elbows but all in great fun. With an English-speaking gal on one side of me and a host of Spanish businessmen friends of Monastrell on the other, it was easy to communicate and easier still to share the table as everyone got in on the action. The tidy, business-suited guys approached it with a little less abandon but, in the end, were just as well-sated as the rest of us.
The afternoon literally wrapped up as María José guided her team to roll up the tablecloth, save the wine glasses and nutcrackers. Then it was onto some guitar music, spontaneous dancing and ice cream sandwiches. While it wasn’t altogether traditional Boston, it was the best bake I’ve ever been to.
