Martha Stewart's Roasted Lobster And Chicken Dish Is An Interesting Life Choice
Whether we like it or not, most of us are familiar with the monstrosity that is the turducken, which is a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey. However, Martha Stewart's recent visit to Maison Barnes introduced us to something even more interesting: a lobster stuffed inside a chicken. So much for thinking roasted chicken was the easiest dish in the world to cook, right?
According to Stewart's Instagram post, Maison Barnes offers French-inspired cuisine with an atmosphere reminiscent of the early 20th century. With a menu crafted by Georgette Farkas, Maison Barnes serves dishes like sea bass in puff pastry, filet mignon, and poached dover sole, whose delicate texture alone makes it a daunting choice of fish steak for grilling beginners. Even appetizers as seemingly simple as a salad are elevated with black truffle and grilled sea scallops, culminating in what Stewart described as complex flavors.
Of course, the menu isn't the only eyebrow-raising aspect of Maison Barnes. For the average American, a dinner on Park Avenue is far out of reach, with appetizers starting at $38 per person. If you were to order your own lobster-stuffed roasted chicken, you'd be looking at an additional $250. Needless to say, it was nice of Stewart to share her experience online so we can at least live vicariously through her photos.
Maison Barnes is new to the restaurant scene
Despite welcoming its diners with the air of an early 20th-century home, Maison Barnes only opened its doors in January 2024. More interestingly, Maison Barnes is located inside another restaurant, Cafe Boulud, which has graced New York City's Upper East Side since 1998.
Owned and operated by chef Daniel Boulud, both Cafe Boulud and Maison Barnes celebrate French cuisine through four pillars in their menus: La Tradition, La Saison, Le Potager, and Le Voyage. These pillars boil down to using fresh, seasonal ingredients while also incorporating traditional French cooking methods and celebrating international influences. Each of these applies to Martha Stewart's beloved lobster-stuffed chicken, taking what could have been a tired rendition of surf and turf to a new level of sophistication without stretching too far beyond the familiar.
That being said, a large part of seasonality ties into an ever-evolving menu. The options for fresh produce will depend on the availability of rare farmers market fruits and veggies, while seafood will vary by weather, migration patterns, and other environmental factors. As such, the lobster-stuffed chicken won't always be on the menu, for better or worse, but the constant rotation of dishes is undeniably part of the allure.