First Friday Luncheon First Friday Luncheons are open to Professional and Fellow members only; the menus appear in Previews. Mohamed Moustafa North American Lobster Restaurant and Fresh Seafood Market , Carlstadt and Parsippany , NJ Friday, June 4, 12:00 noon Members $50 , guests $60

At the North American Lobster Restaurant, the lobster, according to Ruth Bayard Smith of The Record, is "delicious"-and so is the rest of the seafood that takes center stage on the menu. The North American Lobster Restaurant and Fresh Seafood Market is paradise for true crustacean connoisseurs: owned by B&G Lobster, one of the country's largest seafood marketers, these New Jersey restaurants feature the finest, freshest fare imaginable. But while the raw materials are important, only the most skilled hand can turn seafood into a feast fit for Neptune himself-and that's why B&G recruited Mohamed Moustafa to run the ranges. The son of a chef (his father wore the top toque for both the United Nations and the British Army), Moustafa has cooked in prime restaurants in Egypt and throughout Europe. On this side of the pond, Moustafa donned a toque at the Black Bull Steak House in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, where he mastered that most quintessential of American dishes. He was cooking at Hackensack's top-ranked Sea Shack, a perennial favorite among readers of New Jersey Monthly Magazine, who voted it "Best Seafood Restaurant of Northern New Jersey," when B&G tapped him for the executive post at North American Lobster in 1996. Here, Moustafa has won high marks from critics and savvy local foodies, who crowd the tables at both restaurants. They come for the New England clam chowder ("not to be missed," advised Bayard Smith in her three-apple review); the fried calamari; and, of course, the "exceptional" lobster. If you like to think that tying one on means securing a lobster bib and preparing to feast, you'll want to sign up early for this luncheon -seats are sure to get snapped up fast.

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