A delicious article on langoustines from R.W. Apple in the New York Times makes me yearn to board the next jet to France for a trip to eat these yummy little crustaceans, Lobster's Little Cousin, and Its Envy.
What, you may well ask, is a langoustine? Shellfish nomenclature is a vexed matter, and nowhere more so than where langoustines are concerned. More later on the technicalities; for now, suffice it to say that they are slim, pink, thin-shelled relatives of lobsters, with bodies 3 to 10 inches long and skinny claws. (The claws are often as long as the bodies.) At its best the meat is heavenly, more subtle in flavor and delicate in texture than that of their huskier cousins from Maine.
Though not the same, the article reminds me of the smaller little lobsters I ate in Anguilla a few years ago. I think they called them langoustines actually, but they were larger than the creatures Mr. Apple muses about in this article. Either way, I want langoustines in my belly right now, even if they're not breakfast food!