Shelling out: Hamptons deli charging $120 for pound of lobster salad
Jonesing for lobster salad while out in the Hamptons?
It’s a bisque-y proposition.
Of course, lobster salad is a summertime staple in the land of money-is-no-object.
But at beloved East Hampton delicatessen the Red Horse Market, they’re charging $120 per pound for the delicacy.
Store manager Christian Pineda told The Post he’s only gotten complaints “from some of our customers” about the lobster salad.
Most patrons, though, are willing to shell out big bucks.
“It’s because of the quality we’ve got to charge these prices,” Pineda explained. “For our customers, they’re primarily focused on quality. The local quality is what they want, especially with our meats and seafoods.”
The gourmet market was opened in the early 1990s by former ad exec Jerry Della Femina and the late David Silver, the founder and CEO of Regency Home Fashions.
The Montauk Highway store’s changed ownership several times over the years.
In the early 2000s, it closed for over two years.
Pineda pointed out that the market also offers a lobster bargain — a $28 lobster roll.
Generally, it takes a 2-pound lobster to generate one pound of lobster salad.
Over at Gosman’s Fish Market in Montauk, the current market price for live lobsters is $19.99 a pound.
According to Liz Cuozzo, a senior reporter who covers the seafood market for Urner Barry, the wholesale value of two pounds of cooked lobster meat is currently just under $30.
People are used to shelling out big bucks for shellfish on the East End.
Duryea’s Lobster Deck in Montauk boasted a $97 lobster salad last summer.
And back in 2019, Sagaponack’s Loaves and Fishes Foodstore was hawking it for $100 a pound.
But the $120 pricetag had some locals boiling on social media.
“Not even Jerry Seinfeld would pay that kind of money for Hamptons lobster salad,” said one commenter.
“I’m kinda ok with it,” offered another local. “They are separating money from the stupid.”
On Friday, the lobster salad’s display price was removed because, said one employee, “we don’t want the customer to die when they see the price.”
