Dining Out: Red Lobster rocks

Prior to Sunday night, my most extensive experience with lobsters was through the character of Clawful in my favorite childhood cartoon, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.”

It always seemed an overpriced delicacy, so I never really had an opportunity to try it until I ventured into Red Lobster for the first time.

When I first entered the popular chain restaurant, I wondered what I should order. Egg rolls? Ribs? Goat meat?

As it turns out, Red Lobster doesn’t offer those foods.

Instead, it features lobster, often of the red variety. “All right,” I thought. “Why not give it a try?”

And try it I did, ordering the Ultimate Feast, a beastly monster of a meal featuring lobster tail, several garlic butter shrimp, fried shrimp, crab claws and a side item.

In this case, I ordered mashed potatoes, though I ended up giving the potatoes to a friend. He loves potatoes.

Me? I love seafood. And this seafood did not disappoint.

The shrimp was quite good, especially the garlic butter shrimp.

The crab claws were actually cooked to perfection, and I’m a man who knows his crab claws. Large chunks of meat came out every time I snapped one of the claws, which is always a good sign.

As for the lobster, the main reason I attended said restaurant, it lived up to the hype — mostly.

While the taste was great, the price tag of every lobster-related item on the menu reminded me why I have avoided ordering it for so long.

For dessert, the choice was the Warm Chocolate Chip Lava Cookie. Basically, it’s a chocolate chip cookie with hot fudge in the center. And it’s topped with vanilla ice cream.

As a fat man, I wholeheartedly approved. Granted, my heart may not last long after such a treat.

It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, however.

I did order a chocolate banana smoothie with the meal, for no particular reason, and it was not good. It tasted like one of those weight loss shakes that claims excellent taste on the can but leaves the victim with bitter beer face for hours on end.

The service was good, however, so Red Lobster gets my seal of approval. Now to go buy the first season of “He-Man” on DVD.

Red Lobster
Location: 3116 Montgomery Highway, Dothan
Phone: 793-6262
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Rating: Three out of four stars.