On Sun, 2 Oct 2016 17:53:14 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>On 2016-10-02 5:14 PM, Je?us wrote:
>> On Sun, 2 Oct 2016 02:48:07 -0400, "Tom Del Rosso"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> When it comes to shrimp cocktail of course the shell is left on the tail
>>> as a handle, but shrimp in soup or risotto? How are you supposed to eat
>>> shrimp like that in soup? You have to pick it out and shell it, then
>>> drop it back in the soup to eat it? That is disgusting and ridiculous.
>>> I just had this problem with risotto in a pretty good restaurant and
>>> it's happened before with soup. They could just as easily have removed
>>> the whole shell. What say you?
>>
>> I say there should be no shell in that soup or risotto...
>>
>
>I always thought the tail was left on for aesthetic purposes. The are
>annoying but they look interesting. Shrimp is not as expensive as it
>used to be but restaurants still tend to scrimp on them. Having to take
>them out of a dish and extract the meat from the bit of tail slows you
>down a little so you don't gobble the shrimp too quickly and end up
>disappointed by the small portion.

Interesting conspiracy theory there

>As for risotto.... I had shrimp risotto in what was billed to be a very
>authentic Italian restaurant in Newport Beach CA last year and the tails
>were in the shrimp.

One of these days I'll get to try a 'real' risotto...

At home I occasionally make stock out of prawn or lobster shells.