Red Lobster

I'm imagining everyone has been to a Red Lobster at one time or another. It's corporate, and the funniest part is, the food may be frozen, it may all come from HQ, but the menu is still inventive, the food has always been more forward-thinking than most mom & pop joints (read: not fried, and seafood in multiple configurations other than the standard combo platter) and in most parts of the country, this is really the only good place you can go for seafood. I find it really interesting that for as long as I've been going to "the Lobster" (since the 80s), it has remained inventive with its menu items and the quality has remained even-keeled. I remember Sunday trips to "the Lobster" with my Nan on our big shopping days... ordering the crab legs (and devouring them like a hungry crab-eating wolf), learning about the joys of a pre-dinner salad and feeling like I was on top of the world.

Having said that, I will add that I feel bad eating here (even though the cheesy biscuits are sooo good), because it's still corporate and evil and I live near the beach, for chrissakes. But we had a gift card, dammit.

What we had:

I had my usual combo platter with a twist: they now offer (overcooked but I don't care) grilled shrimp. I had grilled shrimp, Snow crab legs and seafood-stuffed flounder with a langustino-topped baked potato. Actually, I had the flounder and potato for lunch the next day, because I thought I was going to split after the crab, shrimp, cheesy biscuits & Caesar salad. It's not high-quality food, but it's good, and it's reliable. (we went here before Captain Jim's).

My DH had some langustino-topped fillet of fish dish. The broccoli was waaaayyyy under-done.

We also saw on the menu what could be my husband's undoing; a chocolate-chip lava cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. We must go back. He got so excited when he saw that on the menu, I swear the man almost teared up. Any food that makes my love squeal with delight like a schoolgirl must be eaten. Lard be damned!

Décor:

It's Red Lobster.

Service:

Red Lobster-esque.

Overall impressions:

I don't care if it is evil, it's comfort food. Even though they couldn't cook lobster to save their collective lives, the shrimp is always rubbery and the crab is occasionally soggy. I don't care. (cheesy biscuits) We will totally go back.

Company website; what Google says

Rating:

3 out of 5 salamanders