Lead image via Domesticate Me

Jacksonville Beach, Florida may have raised rapper/home chef Dillon Vaughn Maurer but his current city of Atlanta awarded his banging pedigree. Though mostly rooted in the hip-hop world, Maurer's food background and on-hiatus dining series is evident through his food-heavy rhymes. "Bottom line is we cooking a feast, yup/ I twist trees up over beats that bees rough," his velvet flow echoes on "Feast," a track featuring Diamond D. Plus, the stony musician comes in a couple iterations, namely his alter-ego Lobsterdamus, a half-lobster half-man who spits. Honestly, it's as if Dillon's career were developed for this recipe column.

MERRY JANE got with the dude who gets into a crustacean costume to discuss cooking with his grandmother, kitchen meditation, and the never-ending pressure to order lobster. He also shared a wild recipe for Avocado Lobster Toast that will get you high as hell!

Avocado Lobster Toast with a Cannabutter Sauce

Ingredients

Fresh Maine lobster preferred (knuckle and claw meat if you can get it like that, but frozen tail works fine, too)

A couple Haas avocados (gotta be Haas, yo)

Jalapeño

Lemon

White wine (a cheap Pinot Grigio is good)

A buncha weed butter

Brioche bread

Throw on some Brazilian jazz to get that coastal Latin vibe goin'

Poach the lobster meat in weed butter and add a little white wine to taste. Griddle the brioche toast with weed butter. Throw that sweet, succulent lobster meat on top of the equally sweet and also now crunchy brioche (way to griddle!), then add thinly sliced jalapeño and lemon. Brush again… with weed butter. You can add a little paprika dust on top if you're feelin' it like that. Boom.

Photo courtesy of Dillon Maurer

MERRY JANE: Though your musical career has taken centerstage in your day-to-day, your background in the food industry still makes its way into your rhymes. Tell me a little about that.

Dillon Maurer: I've always been into food, specifically eating. And it runs in my family — my momma can cook her ass off. She had a little soup restaurant, Your Soup D'Jour, for a stint when I was in high school. Her momma (my Nanny) had a restaurant, The Skunk's Nest, in Wildwood, Florida. So yeah, food runs in my family and I've always been in the industry starting [as] a busboy, then server, then [eventually] reaching the pinnacle of my food service career as a Hibachi chef during college at the University of Florida. There, I started rapping and taking music seriously — and it's also where I cooked for Chuck D, which was one of the greatest moments of my rap life and regular life. So yeah I think with rap, you brag and boast about what you do and how you live and what you're good at — and yeah I'm good at food, so.

I know you've told me the origin story of LobbyDom during an IRL smoke sesh, but catch readers up here, please.

As for Lobsterdamus, well he's from the planet Lobstropolis and was sent here to save mankind from itself even though he hates everyone and everything except life's fineries and trappings. He also likes food — but strictly expensive cuisine.

You're extremely committed to this lobster alter ego and all the decorating that goes along with it. Do you ever feel pressure to actually be more into making/eating lobster because of Lob?

Well, the Lobby lifestyle comes naturally to me but yeah, I def feel the pressure to rep lobster when I step in these streets. And I DEFINITELY feel pressure to order lobster when I see it on a menu — but I'm still picky. It's gotta be proper.

How is making music similar to making food?

For me, both are acts of mediation and necessity. I make food cause yeah gotta eat, so I went ahead and decided Imma love that shit since we have to do it like every damn day anyway. I make the musics to try and reclaim what's left of my sanity and also to express myself and philosophies and whatnot and yada yada.

Quality ingredients are required for the process whether it's garden tomatoes or gritty breakbeats. Also, anybody can do either — it just takes time, effort, and patience.

You used to do a dining series at your house. Any plans on getting that going again?

Yes, I definitely want to bring Plates & Crates — a 4-course course vegan dinner series that doubles as a record swap — back once I have my new crib [in East Point], The Lobby Domocile, fully up and running. Stay tuned!

How did you develop the dish you're sharing with us today? How would you recommend best enjoying it (to impress a third date, eaten alone while leaning over the sink, with your mom, etc.)?

This is some super fly shit meant for a gathering of close friends and/or people you care about — it ain't cheap, but it's nice to share the good stuff when you got it.

For more on Dillon Mauer, visit his Bandcamp page here

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