You'd have to convince me that lobster is a Veblen good. Yes, it's often priced as a luxury good once you get away from the New England coast--and sometimes even there--but that's not the same thing as saying higher prices increase demand. I expect the restaurant selling $25 lobster rolls would sell more if they were a more reasonable $12 but they might not make as much money.
I do like lobster when the price is reasonable. What is true is that it's very delicate so it's really wasted in things like lobster mac and cheese.
We used to use Lobster as prison food / dog food because nobody liked it. It's mostly a tasteless meat which has become more popular as westerners have shifted to blander foods.
Well, it was extremely plentiful and cheap--which led to a sort of stigma being attached to it. Lobster is also very delicate; if it's not prepared super-fresh, it's not very good.
Food fashions aren't always rational though. It seems to have become popular largely when people from New York and DC started vacationing up in New England in the 1800s.
I do like lobster when the price is reasonable. What is true is that it's very delicate so it's really wasted in things like lobster mac and cheese.