Last night we stopped by L'Ecole to sample the first Fourchu lobsters of the 2012 season. These rare and tasty creatures hail from the freezing cold waters off the tiny village of Fourchu on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. But they've made their way to New York over the last several years through the dedicated efforts of Dorothy Cann Hamilton, the founder of the International Culinary Center.  

Hamilton grew up in Marine Park, but her family has gaelic roots in Fourchu that go all the way back to the 18th Century and she continues to spend part of each summer there. Noticing the town's traditional fishing industry was on the decline—due in part to falling prices fed by a glut of lower-quality lobsters—Hamilton decided to use her connections in the New York restaurant world to establish a market for Fourchu's lobster catch. With the help of Aqua Best, a local seafood importer, she's arranged to divert a portion of the catch away from the big multinational buyers directly into the kitchens of local restaurants, starting with L'Ecole, the restaurant she founded back when the ICC was still called the French Culinary Institute.

Hamilton's pitch for Fourchu's lobsters goes like this: they're raised in exceptionally cold and clear water, so they grow slowly, and they're harvested before molting, so their meat is firm, with a complex taste that's not overly sweet. She compared this "merroir" to the terroir of a fine wine, and also emphasized the sustainability and eco-friendliness of supporting local lobstermen in Canada, where there are strict limits on the numbers of lobsters than can be harvested each year. Her enthusiasm is contagious—she convinced Steven Wong, the second-generation owner of Aqua Best, to build a huge tank for the creatures in Bushwick, where they are kept until they are sold. He plans to bring in five to ten thousand pounds of lobster a week until the season ends in late July.

Clearly, like an expensive imported automobile, lobsters are sold and not bought—just a couple of generations ago they were considered unfit even for prisoners. So after so much build-up, we had some trepidation about actually tasting these things—would they live up to the hype?  

The appetizers and first two courses featured lobster but weren't really able to showcase the dish. They were of course tasty, but most importantly they took the edge off a ravenous hunger among the group that had only been amplified by a tour of the ICC's five-story facility, featuring 14 kitchens and two celebrity appearances (Jacques Torres! Amanda Hesser!) Once all of that was out of the way, the lobster roll was served. Our eyebrows had already been raised by the inclusion of a lobster roll on the menu, as these sandwiches are usually as much about the bread and the dressing as much as the protein. But as lobster rolls go, these were exceptional—even if the lobster itself didn't really get a chance to shine. When we asked about the rolls presence on the menu we were told it was because they are a comfortable point of entry for citizen Lobster eaters (truth).

The steamed lobster, however, was grand. Hamilton had previously suggested that the flavors differ between the claw and tail of the lobster and as the lobster was picked apart this astounding assertion was found to be true. So much so that a small bit of clarified butter spilled onto the claw was considered a disappointment—the lobster meats bold flavor needed no accoutrement. [A brief digression: the back end of the lobster is called the tail and not the butt in part because lobster's pee out of the nephrophores located at the base of their antenna. This is where the common myth that lobsters pee out of their eyes was born. And now you know.]

So there you have it—if Hamilton gets her way, Fourchu lobster will soon be the Kobe beef of the sea. If you want to taste it before prices go up, you can buy it direct from Aqua Best at 276 Grand Street in Chinatown starting Friday, or find it on the menus at L'Ecole and a number of high-end restaurants around the city including Blue Hill, Daniel, Gramercy Tavern, ABC Kitchen, The Spotted Pig, North End Grille, and John Dory Oyster Bar for the next two months. And if you are looking for a wine pairing, Hamilton's master sommeliers at the ICC recommend accompanying it with a German riesling or a French Sauvignon Blanc.

With additional reporting by David Jacobs.