Red Lobster [Shrimp & Lobster Pot Pie!] – Torrance, CA

I never watch commercials…but the words “Shrimp & Lobster Pot Pie” caught my internal fat person’s attention (i.e. my true self). Now, at this point, I must preface with the fact that I was born and raised in the midwest. Anyone from a small town will tell you that certain chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster are THE go to places for a special occasion. We grow up thinking that this prepackaged, processed, frozen-not-fresh food is fancy and gourmet just because it’s slicker than the mom and pop shops around town. After going to college and living in major metropolitan cities and traveling around the world, I know better…but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good chain meal every now and then!

Frankly, I’m not a food snob. I enjoy a frito pie as much as foie gras (okay, “as much” is probably a little generous…but you get my drift!). So, when I saw the commercial for a Shrimp & Lobster Pot Pie at Red Lobster, I had to go.

Let’s all admit to ourselves that the cheddar baked biscuits from Red Lobster are probably the best thing you can make with Bisquick.

Cheddar Baked Biscuit

The waitress was woefully lacking at this location. She didn’t really know the menu at all, so much so, that the chef had to come out and tell us we needed to add an item to the Shrimp & Lobster Pot Pie as it was part of a “pick 2” promo and not available as a la carte. And when I ordered the nachos, she asked me what kind I wanted…I said, “There’s more than one option?…” I was totally confused. She was too. And no, there isn’t more than one option. There is only the shrimp nacho. We all agreed that the redneck in us loved nachos made with Cheese Whiz as opposed to “real” cheese…despite the fact that 3 of us were Asian. I do wish that they used pickled jalapenos instead of the fresh ones to give it a bit of acidity. The shrimp was barely noticeable. Yes, it had the texture of shrimp but it was so floppy and lacked any flavor whatsoever. I could’ve been eating tofu for all the taste it imparted.

Shrimp Nachos

The seafood stuffed mushrooms are a memory from my childhood. I loved these and I still do. They’re super cheesy, rich and creamy. We all fight over the spoon to scrape up the extra cheese in the bottom of the dish along with bits of butter and then spooning it onto our biscuits…you know, because it doesn’t have enough butter on it already.

Stuffed Mushrooms

With my entree, I chose a side caesar salad. Red Lobster actually makes a pretty good caesar. It’s plain and uninspired, but it tastes like a caesar with the proper components of romaine, parmesan and croutons. You can’t really mess it up.

Caesar Salad

I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy so I opted for the seafood stuffed sole and let the roomie order the pot pie. I added the langostino baked potato for an extra $3.99. It’s totally not worth it. For the uninitiated, “langostino” is not to be confused with “langoustine” which is uber expensive and super tasty. Langostino, however, is not technically a lobster nor is it a prawn. Rather, it is more closely related to the crab family. It tasted like nothing…actually, it tastes like the “shrimp” (in quotations as I’m not totally convinced it wasn’t tofu) on the shrimp nachos. The sole tasted waterlogged but the seafood stuffing was yummy.

Seafood Stuffed Sole + Langoustino Baked Potato

But we finally got to the piece de resistance – the Shrimp & Lobster Pot Pie!…Sadly, our joy was short lived. While the dish was serviceable with it’s cheddar baked biscuit topping, we all agreed that we wished the innards were creamier. Unlike all the other seafood we had so far, this pot pie at least tasted like the filling was made with a deeply seafood base. And they should seriously make a thicker biscuit topping. The filling to topping ratio felt a bit unbalanced.

Shrimp & Lobster Pot Pie + Grilled Shrimp

Our final dish was Strawberry Shortcake in a jar. The strawberries were fresh and the custard sauce was appropriately sweet. But the shortcake portion was a tad dry. It would’ve been well served if the custard sauce had enough time to soak into the cake. Unfortunately, as with all food placed in front of us, it disappeared rather quickly; it didn’t stand a chance.

Strawberry Shortcake in a jar!

For 4 people – 2 apps, 2 entrees, 2 salads, 1 dessert, and 1 cocktail – the total came to about $75 including tax and tip. We all left full and satiated if not totally satisfied with the execution of the dishes. I don’t have an aversion to going to chain restaurants, but Red Lobster needs to step up its quality and train its servers better. I wonder if I should review Olive Garden next?