A Recipe for your House

It was more than half a century ago, but Al Bahrs, brother of John A. Bahrs, owner of Bahrs Restaurant, knew the value of a good lobster recipe

Al, a building contractor, and Mae, his wife, a realtor, also lived in Highlands where the Bahrs family had made a name for themselves as outstanding businesspeople generous to their community, and always willing to help out someone in need.

But Al apparently really wanted to live in Atlantic Highlands where he felt he would have a better view of the ocean.

A lady who lived at the corner of Ocean Blvd. and Fourth Avenue, Carol Lieneck apparently had a hunger for lobsters as only Bahrs Restaurant could prepare them. So in August 1969, Miss Lieneck apparently contacted Al Bahrs to see what he could do about finding a Bahrs Restaurant recipe for cooking a live broiled lobster.

Al responded with a two page note and not one, but two recipes from the famous Bahrs Landing Restaurant.

However, his recipes, together with his wishes that Ms. Lieneck would enjoy her sea food treat, came with a request of his own. Al wrote “If and when you ever decide to sell your new beautiful Scenic Drive home and place it on the market, I hope you will consider me as a potential bidder.”

Apologetic at possibly appearing to be rude “in my direct approach,” Al went on to say “my desire to live at that very spot has almost become an obsession, having dreamed for many years of being in a position to construct just the type home, in the most beautiful location, with its ever changing, exciting and romantic atmosphere.”

Still the businessman and home lover had some doubts. “Fifty eight years of my life,” he wrote, “have already been expended, so to accomplish my goal, I must hurry. But please, do not feel obligated in any sense. I am enjoying my dream and it could very well be that my dream may be much more pleasant than the actual reality. But I will chance that possibility should you decided to consider relinquishing your land.”

The Bahrs never did purchase the property but did however, acquire their own stately home along Ocean Blvd.…with an outstanding view of the Bay, the ocean, and the horizon beyond.

“There’s no harm in sharing the lobster recipes,” said Jay Cosgrove, the third generation of the Bahrs family to run the Bay avenue restaurant. Known as the Lobster Boss because of the popularity of that particular seafood and his own management of the popular eatery, along with all the other seafood and other items on the menu at Bahrs, Cosgrove said “it really is more in the dexterity and taste of the chef. Everyone can boil the water, add the ingredients, and follow a recipe exactly, but it’s the chef, like ours at Bahrs, who adds that extra touch that makes it special.’

The recipes Al Bahrs shared, Cosgrove the Lobster Boss said, can be shared again with all who want one or two of the recipes from Bahrs Restaurant for more than 50 years ago.

BOILED LOBSTER COCKTAIL

Use a 10 quart pot, fill 3/4 full with water, add ¼ Cup vinegar and 4 tablespoons of salt and several stalks of celery and bring to a boil. Place lobsters in pot and cover, continue to boil for 15 minutes.

Remove lobsters and place the remainder of the lobsters in the same water and repeat the process. Allow lobsters to cool.

Remove the tail section and using a fork, simply pull the meat from the tail shell in one piece. The back of the tail has a strip of meat which is easily removed and beneath this strip there is a dark vein running to a sack at the very tip of the tail. The vein and sack are to be removed and discarded. The remainder can be cut into bite size. The class will have to be cracked with a nutcracker, to permit the removal of the meat. (The green substance in the body may be eaten with crackers.)

The sauce accompaniment for boiled lobsters consists of catsup with horse radish added to suit the taste, add a little vinegar to thin and lemon juice to offer a little tartness. The bite-size lobster pieces are to be places in cocktail cups or glasses over chopped lettuce, then pour sauce over contents.

LIVE BROILED LOBSTER

The live lobster is to be placed on its back and using a heavy sharp knife, slit from the very tip to the tail. Grasp the lobster in both hands and crack the outer shell so that the lobster will lie flat with the meat side exposed. Remove the green substance and mix with cracker crumbs and drawn butter, then remove the body entrails and replace with cracker crumb mix.

Crack the claws with a cleaver or other flat instrument, pour drawn butter over the lobster and place in a heated broilers for 15 minutes. Serve with drawn butter, lemon. Oyster crackers or pilot bread make a fine accompaniment.