And I stand by Troy on this completely:
Verrain(maybe), Juniper, Hamlet, Chef Troy and I did this with the understanding that we’d get feedback from the judges. We did our part…where’s yours?
Fenris
.:Bowing nearly to the floor to Chef Troy and Fenris:.
A thousand pardons. RL has interfered again, and I was unaware until last night that there were in fact 2 back to back battles. I would have written and scored last night, but I believe you both deserve researched and constructive comments, so I put in a little extra time. I am truly sorry.
Harsh considering I thought I had fulfilled my commitment with the first battle, but not unearned. There is no way your score will be reflective of your anger at me.
Now, that being said, onto the judging:
Challenger Fenris
You present a very intriguing conundrum for this judge. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the menu you prepared because all of the dishes appear to be fantastically delicous. On the other hand, the menu, with slight deviations was extremely BORING. By the way, I disagree with wring completely when she indicated she wanted less. Iron Chef is not about eating a meal, it is about the bringing the theme ingredient to life. No way I could eat in one sitting the entire meal, but I could certainly have a good taste of each dish to determine the score. I, for one, was impressed with the size of the menu.
Lobster Appetizers
For the lobster sushi, I would actually use a rice cooker to make the rice as opposed to boiling it. Much easier, and I like the rice better. That being said, lobster sushi…been there done that. Damn tasty, but the scallion does not add enough to make it a dish that will stick in my mind beyond the second I swallow it. The Lobster Fritter, however, was ingenious. The fritter was a great compliment to the sushi, but what really brought it to life for me was the orange/ginger sauce. Simply a great set of appetizers. I too was very impressed with the diagrams, but they will not effect the score.
** Lobster Salad**
Again, really yummy, but boring as hell. Having this type of “classic” salad, as well as a “classic” entree in the the Surf and Turf, I think does a great disservice to the menu as a whole. That said, the dish, complete with walnuts and gorgonzolla cheese, sounds like it would taste wonderfully. I’ll have to try the maple syrup trick when making dressings.
Bisqish Lobster Soup
Fantastic! I think I would love the corn, ham and lobster combination. The only thing I’d add is that it too is boring. I wanted a KICK to my soup. Your dishes are way too bland. I wanted something spicy, with a pepper kick. Especially at this point in your menu. After a boring salad and before a boring entree, an especially spicy soup would be excellent.
Surf and Turf
There is a reason it is a classic. I personally dislike the butter added to the steak (IMHO it is added to try and elevate a not so great cut of meat.) I also would not have an “optional” sauce. Your a Challenger Chef on the Iron Chef, dammit, act like one. You know better, so YOU decide whether or not we should have sauce. Be proud, be assertive. If you like sauce, dammit add it. At a restaurant I may want to decide, but certainly not in an Iron Chef competition. All that said, this is a wonderful dish that, on taste alone, would be a wonderful jewel in your crown.
Perfect Pair
I think this was wonderful and creative. I like the idea of dredging the lobster. Great way to end the menu.
Chef Troy
Overall, I liked the creativity in your dishes(with some glaring exceptions) than your esteemed challenger. Your dishes likewise sound like they would be wonderful, but I wanted more. One appetizer, one soup, and one sandwich with a side salad, and an unjudgable dessert? That’s all you could do with this allegedly very easy theme ingredient. I understand (and would never berate you for) the call of the real world, but I expected much much more out of you.
Lobster Stuffed Mushrooms
Wait, I can order this at Red Lobster. It’s great there, and your dish would be fantastic. You really cant go wrong with this appetizer, and the presentation was fantastic. Great, if not entirely uninspired, begining.
Lobster Corn Chowdah
Wonderful dish. I agree with Scylla (gasp) that I think this is a glimpse into your wonderful potential for creating dishes that would be original and wonderful. Although, like with Fenris, I wanted a little more kick here, it is still a great dish.
Lobster Roll
Having been to B’more recently and having the distinct pleasure of having a soft shell crab roll that was much like this dish, I would love the taste of this dish. Another great tasting, if not very inspired, dish. I also have concerns with the salad you included with the dish. I feel a dish like this could use a little more contrast between the sammich and the salad. Using the same mayo-base for both, I think, does bind the dishes together, but I think you would actually want more contrast.
Dessert
Great Presentation, no judging.
Overall thoughts:
Great tasting dishes by both Chefs. But where is the creativity? Where is the Cantonese Lobster, or the Lobster Omelettes, or Lobster salsa. Hell, I woulda settled for some kind of concentrated lobster sauce.
Fenris, your presentation, menu, and tone was much too deferential. I want a challenger with the ideas of JavaMaven, the presentation of Scylla, and the balls of Clint Eastwood. Your dishes seem to reflect the blandness which you brought into Kitchen Stadium too. You appear to be a fine chef, so have a little faith in yourself and kick ass. All that said, there is no doubt your dishes were great tasting, and I truly love your wit and verbal abilities, so do not take these statements out of context or as an attack on you. However, for Iron Chef purposes, this may be a kitchen that is too hot for you.
Chef Troy
I expected more from you, but you still managed to make great tasting dishes. You may be the victim of your own previous successes.
Thank you all for this opportunity and again I apologize for the tardiness. Again, I will post scores here:
Chef Troy - 16
Fenris - 17
Well (giggle Giggle), thanks to a dear friend in another area (giggle giggle), I now have a better idea (massive giggling ensues, stopping all coherant thought for several seconds), of what exactly is required of a (titter titter - sorta like giggling, but more delicate, generally done behind a napkin) real Iron Chef judge, so let me collapse over here in a feminine fashion.
titter titter.
(noting that I had my scores in right around the time I posted. neener neener. tho’ they may have been different had I gotten a certain videotape prior to my judging. Sigh. He’ll never know what his scores might have been)
Thank you, Hamlet… even though you were late, you came in before I had to judge. And a thank you to the other judges who came in with their scores.
This lobster battle was a difficult one to judge. There were many impressive dishes presented by both our Iron Chef and the Challenger.
Now that the scores are in:
Whose cuisine reigns supreme?
For the first time in SDMB Iron Chef History, it’s a tie!
Iron Chef Troy Challenger Fenris
Hamlet 16 17
Scylla 16 18
wring 16 15
Hugh Jass 18 16
___________________
Total 66 66
You guys know what this means. It’s time for a tie-breaking round. Are you ready for it?
Okay, bring it on.
new ingredient, or more of the same?
::rushes in, straightening skirt::
I’m here, I’m here. I was just, uh, in the ladies room. Yeah, that’s it.
Chef Troy
Appetizers
I can’t say I’m wild about portabellos (never been a mushroom fan), but I really appreciate the blending of flavor in this dish. They combine in a very pleasing fashion, and I’m probably in the minority. My issue with both portabellos and this dish is the texture. I’m craving structure here.
Soup
I have no complaint with the soup. Corn chowder=yum. Lobster=yum. I wouldn’t have thought to combine them, but these go great together. Love it.
Lobster Rolls
Eh, not so much. I’ve never liked these, and I was expecting much more from such an accomplished chef working with a fine ingredient. Let me get this straight: you want to mayo all over my lobster? I know lots of people eat lobster rolls, but if everyone ate lobster rolls while jumping off a cliff, would you do that too? I’m disappointed.
Side Dish
I like the lobster addition to the potato salad, but could you PLEASE get some more mayonaise into this course? 
Dessert, while it makes for a lovely presentation–really, it’s quite pretty–I can’t judge, which is a shame since I love the idea of the blood orange sherbet.
Fenris
Appetizers
I’m a little apprehensive approaching this dish, as I haven’t had much experience with sushi. (A life spent in Michigan and Missouri will do that to you.) Since the lobster seems so thin and delicate and I like sticky rice, I’ll give it a shot. Interesting, but not for every day.
The fritter is lovely for an elegant dinner on a fall evening. I’m having trouble imagining the lobster combined with the spices you list, but since they go so well with the squash, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Excellent touch with the orange-ginger drizzle. Any chance we could get some cranberry in here? Maybe just a touch?
Salad
Like Chef Troy’s choice of lobster rolls, this is a surprisingly mundane choice to see at this level of competition. I like the dressing and the walnuts, but I’ve never enjoyed gorgonzola and its presence brings things down a notch in my estimation. I’m left nonplussed by this dish.
Soup
I have to quibble with the inclusion of the ham. I think the dish was fine without it; after all, Lobster is plenty meaty on its own. Adding another meat was taking things one step too far.
Surf-n-Turf
I’m torn. I just criticized you for presenting the theme ingredient in such a mundane manner, and this dish is perhaps the most predictable we’ve seen here. However, I really enjoy it. I think that the difference lies in the fact that, while the salad itself was mundane, only the concept of surf-n-turf is pedestrian. You lose some points for originality of concept, but the presentation and flavor are flawless.
An actual potato with some lobster involvement (mashed?) would have pleased me more than the second appearance of a squash. Time to clear the cache; that was in the last battle.
Finale
I’m at a loss. This is beautiful, and it tastes as good as it looks. But would Kenichi approve? I mean, is Lobster even an ingredient normally used in Chinese cooking? 
Dessert–again, can’t judge it. I don’t like key lime pie, but I love marzipan. My scores on this would have been somewhat mixed.
I’ll post the scores here, since I appear to be the last judge weighing in (I’m so sorry, really. Everything came due at the same time and it slipped my mind. I’ll step down as a judge if you want.) and we want to expedite the process.
Chef Troy
15
19
13
15
Fenris
18
14
15
18
20
Thanks for your patience.
I curse the server. Shouldn’t have wasted the time on preview. Well, let my mistake serve as an example for the future.
I’m really very sorry. Really. 
I will start a new thread. There will a new ingredient.
Bravo! Well done! Hear hear!
What a battle! What amazing dishes (OK, except for the lobster sandwich - Sorry Chef Troy, just not my cup of tea – those mushrooms though, wow)! An epic battle between well matched opponents. Could there possibly be an encore? A tie-breaker? Dare I hope? (What kind of tie breaker would it be? Chef’s knives at 20 paces? Damn, who’d a thunk a message board could be this exciting!)
And may I add, thank you to both Chefs for the hard work and devotion of time to this endeavor. And to the judges as well.
Juniper: I’m pretty sure Chen would approve: it uses hot bean paste and Chen’s dad invented Chili Shrimp, which was the inspiration for the “red” part of the dish.
Chef Troy: Congrats on a battle well fought…see ya in the new thread, where I will attempt to whump you (culinarily speaking, of course).
Challenger Fenris
Actually, there is a much wider difference in flavor than you might think. in the lobster salad, the tarragon mayonnaise is the dominant flavor note (after the lobster, of course); in the potato salad, the sour cream and creole mustard are the dominant flavors, with the mayonnaise merely providing added richness. They really don’t taste that similar.
If I may make a quick suggestion to JavaMaven.
The next threads title should obviously be:
Iron Chef Sex
Get it? Six=Sex.
Plus what does wu(read wooing an Iron Chef lead to?
Iron Chef Sex.
Thank You. Don’t forget to tip your waitresses.