When you see “market price” on a menu, you know the item is going to be expensive, no matter what the so-called market says. Traditionally, restaurants employ the listing to denote fresh-caught seafood—the cost of a fish or lobster can be wildly variable based on the size, the season, and other factors affecting supply.
“At their cheapest, lobsters are $5 to $6 a pound,” says Ian MacGregor, Manhattan’s largest wholesaler of lobster. “But they can go upwards of $14 a pound.”