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This mutant masterpiece takes “Frankenstein foods” to the next level. The new Maison Barnes — the sister restaurant to Cafe Boulud , both at 100 E. 63d at Park Avenue — is serving a $250 whole roasted chicken stuffed with the head of a Maine lobster.

Dubbed “The Chobster,” it looks like something out of a 1950s sci-fi fil and is served with the most elaborate tableside spectacle I’ve seen in the city. A viral Martha Stewart Instagram post in March showing the composite creature drew more than 31,000 “likes” and comments such as “seems like a PETA hate crime” and “Mommy, I’m scared.” Executive chef Romain Paumier dreamed up the Chobster after his boss Daniel Boulud asked for a big, iconic dish to set Maison Barnes’s menu apart from Café Boulud’s.



Mission accomplished. To make the dish, Paumier and his team first flambée a lobster head in Cognac glaze and then insert it in to the cavity of a whole Sasso chicken — a French breed prized for its deeper flavor. The stuffed chicken — think of it is as a high-class Turducken — is roasted in the oven, while the remaining lobster parts are poached and shelled.

Before the Chobster emerges from the kitchen, it gets dressed up. A brass lobster head, tail and claws — all comically large — are attached to the creation. It’s quite a sight.

Karim Guedouar, the urbane regional manager of Boulud’s Dinex restaurant group, wheels the whole shebang to the table. On my visit, a jolly Boulud and Paum.

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