Lobster, long considered a luxury, is becoming a little more ordinary.
向来被视为奢侈享受的龙虾开始变得越来越普通了。
Soaring supply and falling prices for whole live lobster, along with new food trends, are changing how people eat the crustacean -- perhaps for the long term.
整只活龙虾的供应量飙升，价格下跌，加上新兴的饮食潮流，导致人们食用这种甲壳类动物的习惯正在变化――也许会持续很长时间。
Sandwich shop Quiznos, like other inexpensive chains, is adding more lobster dishes alongside its subs. Golden Corral, the buffet-style restaurants, has put lobster on the menu for the first time. Grocery stores from Whole Foods to Wal-Mart are stocking new lobster items such as frozen tails and cooked claws.
和其他平价连锁餐厅一样，三明治餐厅Quiznos正在加入越来越多的龙虾菜品。自助餐厅Golden Corral首次将龙虾加入了菜单。从全食超市(Whole Foods)到沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)，许多超市都在采购冻虾尾和熟龙虾爪等龙虾新品。
The most expensive restaurants are going beyond classic whole lobster or lobster tail and putting the crustacean in dishes such as pasta, soups and even chips.
最昂贵的餐厅在经典整虾或龙虾尾之外的菜品上下功夫，把龙虾加进了意大利面、汤甚至是薯条里头。
It is rare dynamic in today's food world: Supply of lobster is plentiful and pushing down prices. This comes at a time when rising commodity costs are boosting the price of foods like beef and coffee. And much of the most popular seafood is being severely overfished. The supply of North Atlantic lobsters has steadily climbed for over a decade.
这在如今的餐饮界是罕见的现象：龙虾的供应充足，压低了价格。此时正值大宗商品价格的升高提振了牛肉和咖啡等食品的价格。大多数受欢迎的海鲜品种也遭到严重的过度捕捞。北大西洋龙虾供应的稳步攀升已持续了10多年了。
Supply is likely growing because of a combination of factors. Warming water in recent years may be boosting lobster population. Fishermen are following regulations that protect young and egg-bearing lobsters. And there has been a decline in recent decades of natural predators such as cod, which eat baby lobsters.
龙虾的供应不断增加可能源于多种因素的共同影响。近几年海水水温升高可能导致了龙虾数量的增多。渔民也在遵守保护小龙虾和产卵龙虾的规定。近几十年来，鳕鱼等捕食龙虾仔的天敌的数量也有所下降。
Lobster fishermen groups in the U.S. and Canada, the main areas where lobster is caught for the American market, say retail prices have fallen. In the past two years, the average price that Maine fishermen are paid for whole live lobster has been under $3 per pound, down from a high of $4.63 in 2005, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
美国市场的龙虾主要来自美加地区。这两个国家捕捞龙虾的渔民组织表示，龙虾的零售价格有所下滑。据缅因州海洋资源部(Maine Department of Marine Resources)统计，过去两年中，缅因州渔民出售整只活龙虾的均价一直在每磅三美元以下，2005年时则高达4.63美元。
Lobster prices can vary widely across the country. Many restaurants buy in bulk to lock in a good price.
龙虾价格在全美各地不同地区价格相差较大。许多餐厅均大批量采购，以锁定比较优惠的价格。
'When you increase supply by 80% in five years,' it is hard for prices to keep up when consumer spending is weak, says Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, which represent the state's fishermen.
缅因州龙虾业者协会(Maine Lobstermen's Association)执行理事帕特里斯・麦卡伦(Patrice McCarron)说，“如果在五年内供应量增加80%”，到消费者支出疲软的时候，价格就很难保持增长步伐。该协会是代表该州渔民的组织。
There are signs lobster prices are beginning to inch up. In 2013, prices paid to Maine fishermen rose slightly to an average of $2.89 per pound from $2.69 per pound in 2012. The amount of lobsters caught started to level off.
有迹象表明龙虾价格开始上涨了。2013年，缅因州渔民出售龙虾的价格从2012年的平均每磅2.69美元升至平均每磅2.89美元。龙虾捕捞数量开始呈平稳状态。
Inexpensive chain restaurants have jumped at the chance to add lobster's premium image to their menus.
平价连锁餐厅抓住机会将龙虾的“光辉”形象加入了菜单之中。
Golden Corral bought 200,000 pounds of frozen lobster tails last August. It paid $3.79 per tail, or about $13 a pound -- an approximately 20-year low for the restaurant, says Bob McDevitt, senior vice president of franchising for the 500-location Raleigh, N.C.-based chain. (By the time a restaurant buys lobster, its price has gone up as the supply chain can include wharf fees, a cut for dealers or wholesalers and processing-plant costs.)
Golden Corral去年8月购入了20万磅冻虾尾。该连锁集团总部位于北卡罗来纳州罗利(Raleigh)，在全美各地拥有500家店。集团高级副总裁鲍勃・麦克德维特(Bob McDevitt)说，每只龙虾尾以3.79美元的价格购入，约每磅13美元――大概是他们20年来购入的最低价。（到餐厅购买龙虾的这一步时，价格就已经抬高一些了，因为要加上供应链环节的费用，包括码头费、经销商或批发商的分成以及工厂加工成本。）
Golden Corral is now thawing the tails for a limited-time special, a common practice with tails served at inexpensive restaurants. (The tails have a 12-month frozen shelf life, Mr. McDevitt says.) The special is timed to lure diners after a cold winter that kept them eating at home, he says. At $3.99 a tail, the company isn't making a profit on the special, but it is likely to boost sales of buffet dinners, he says.
Golden Corral目前用冻虾尾做限时特价，这是平价餐厅的普遍做法。（麦克德维特说，这种虾尾的冷冻保存期为12个月。）他说，搞特价是为了吸引因为寒冬一直在家里吃饭的人。他说，每只虾尾售价3.99美元，餐厅并不盈利，但有可能会提振自助晚餐的销售。
Among national chains, lobster appeared on 35% more menus in 2013 compared with 2009, according to Datassential, a menu research and consultancy company based in Chicago.
据芝加哥菜单研究咨询公司Datassential统计，在全美的连锁餐厅中，2013年有龙虾的菜单较2009年多出了35%。
At many high-end restaurants, classic whole lobster and tail dishes are seen as passe and therefore offered less 'despite the price drop,' says Maeve Webster, senior director at Datassential. Instead, lobster rolls, lobster salad and lobster bisque are growing in popularity.
Datassential高级总监梅芙・韦伯斯特(Maeve Webster)说，在许多高档餐厅，经典的整只龙虾和虾尾菜品被认为已经过时，所以“尽管价格下降”，但餐厅的供应减少了。而龙虾卷、龙虾沙拉和龙虾浓汤则越来越受欢迎。
When off-the-boat prices for lobster were plummeting about two years ago, Gramercy Tavern in New York switched to a lobster supplier who buys directly from Maine fishermen, reducing the restaurant's cost per pound by about $3, says Howard Kalachnikoff, executive sous chef at the one-Michelin-star restaurant. Gramercy Tavern is buying lobster for $8.25 a pound, or comparable with the best cuts of beef, allowing chefs 'a little bit more experimentation,' he says.
纽约米其林一星餐厅Gramercy Tavern行政副总厨霍华德・卡拉奇尼科夫(Howard Kalachnikoff)说，两年前龙虾的下船价大幅下滑后，餐厅换了一个直接从缅因州渔民手里进货的龙虾供应商，每磅成本下降了约三美元。他说，Gramercy Tavern以每磅8.25美元的价格购买龙虾，与最好的牛肉价格相当，这样厨师们“就会有更多的实验空间”。
Lobster is on the menu in a pappardelle, chorizo and mussels dish; in a salad with winter squash; as a base for sauce on a flounder, a wild rice dish; and incorporated into an airy chip served with lime aioli.
在该餐厅的菜单上，配有西班牙腊香肠和贻贝的宽意面中有龙虾，笋瓜沙拉中也有。在一道含菰米和比目鱼的菜品中，龙虾是酱汁的主料，配酸橙蒜泥蛋黄酱的薄薯片中也是以龙虾为原料的。
The priciest restaurants 'do not lower [menu prices] when lobster gets cheaper,' says Jordan Elkin, president and founder of Homarus, which buys live lobster directly from Maine fishermen and sells to about 300 high-end restaurants in New York, including Gramercy Tavern. Those restaurants know diners will pay a premium for lobster, Mr. Elkin says.
龙虾供应公司Homarus总裁及创始人乔丹・埃尔金(Jordan Elkin)说，最贵的餐厅“不会在龙虾降价的时候下调菜品价格”。该公司从缅因渔民手中直接购买活龙虾，为包括Gramercy Tavern在内的约300家高档纽约餐厅供货。他说，这些餐厅知道，食客愿意花高价吃龙虾。
At L2O in Chicago, a seafood restaurant where the lowest-priced dinner is a prix fixe meal for $140 per person, lobster is now more often paired with pricey ingredients, says Matthew Kirkley, the restaurant's chef.
在芝加哥海鲜餐厅L2O，价格最低的晚餐是每人140美元的一份套餐。餐厅主厨马修・柯克利(Matthew Kirkley)说，现在龙虾更多地和昂贵的食材搭配在一起。
'I'm serving sweetbread and truffles with lobster,' because of his current $8 a pound wholesale price (which doesn't include overnight shipping by FedEx), says Mr. Kirkley. Usually pairing '$600-a-pound black truffles' with pricey lobster in one dish would be cost prohibitive, he says.
柯克利说，“我们用小牛胰脏和松露配龙虾”，因为目前批发价是每磅八美元（还不包括联邦快递(FedEx)的隔夜送达运费）。他说，通常一道菜中用“600美元一磅的黑松露”搭配昂贵的龙虾就会导致成本过高。
The lobster eaten most often in the U.S. is Homarus americanus, the only species with two large claws that is caught along the north Atlantic coast in Canada and the U.S.
美国最常食用的龙虾是美洲鳌龙虾，这是唯一一个拥有两个大钳子、在加拿大和美国的大西洋北海岸捕捞的品种。
Because of differences in weather, fishing seasonsand fishing regulations, most hard-shell (and therefore easily shipped) live lobster is procured in Canada, while most soft-shell lobster (sold live in New England, but difficult to ship longer distances) is caught in the U.S. (A lobster has a hard shell before it molts and then grows a new soft shell.)
由于气候、捕捞季节和捕捞规定的差异，大多数硬壳（因此也就容易运输）活龙虾都是在加拿大捕捞，而大多数软壳龙虾（在新英格兰州鲜活售卖，但不易长距离运输）都在美国捕捞。（龙虾在脱壳前有一层硬壳，脱壳后会长出新的软壳。）
A large amount of soft-shell lobster caught in New England is sent to processing plants in Canada, destined to become frozen tails or precooked knuckle and claw meat.
在新英格兰州捕捞的大量软壳龙虾都被送往加拿大的加工厂，被制作成冻虾尾或半成品的关节肉和钳肉。
In summer, when fishing is easiest, New England is flooded with inexpensive live soft shell lobster that doesn't make it to other parts of the country.
在捕捞最容易的夏季，新英格兰州有大量便宜的、不会被运往其他地区的软壳活龙虾。
Canada's lobster industry has faced supply levels that are 'up about 50% in the last 10 years,' driving down prices, says Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada, which represents buyers, shippers, processors and fishermen.
加拿大龙虾委员会(Lobster Council of Canada)执行理事杰夫・欧文(Geoff Irvine)说，加拿大的龙虾产业供应水平大幅升高，“过去10年上涨了约50%”，导致了价格的下降。该委员会是代表龙虾购买商、运输商、加工商和渔民的机构。
Whole Foods Market Inc. paid less for its frozen lobster tails last year, then dropped its price to shoppers, says a spokeswoman for the store, who declined to give specific pricing details.
全食超市发言人说，公司去年购买冻虾尾的价格有所下降，于是超市零售价也进行了下调。该发言人拒绝透露具体的定价情况。
Wal-Mart in the past 12 months added three new lobster products, including a frozen lobster tail and cooked whole lobster, says a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
沃尔玛发言人说，公司在过去12个月新增了三种龙虾产品，包括冻龙虾尾和整只熟龙虾。
While it is unlikely to challenge home cooks' love of chicken as a quick, cheap, easy dinner, the lobster industry is trying by investing in new high-pressure machines to burst raw lobster meat from its shell into an easy-to-cook form.
尽管龙虾不大可能挑战普通家庭对快速价廉便捷的鸡肉的热爱，但龙虾产业正在努力。各公司纷纷引进新的高压设备，将龙虾肉从壳里剥离出来，加工成方便烹饪的形式。