From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Red Lobster is a U.S. chain of seafood restaurants. It also operates in Canada and Japan. It is aimed at the mid-level "casual dining" segment of the market. The menu includes a variety of specialty seafood and non-seafood entrees, appetizers, salads, and desserts.

Contents 1 Company growth and franchises 2 Cheddar Bay Biscuits 3 Shrimp Scampi 4 Trivia 5 External links

Red Lobster was founded in 1968 by entrepreneurs Bill Darden and Joe Lee. Originally billed as a "Harbor for Seafood Lovers", the original restaurant in Lakeland, Florida was followed by several others throughout the Southeast. General Mills acquired Red Lobster in 1970 as a five-unit restaurant company and rapidly expanded the company nationwide. Today, there are over 600 Red Lobster locations throughout the United States and Canada. There is also a small number of Red Lobster restaurants located in Japan.

In 1995, Red Lobster (along with the Olive Garden, Smokey Bones BBQ and Grill, and Bahama Breeze) became part of Darden Restaurants. Seasons 52 has since been added to the list of Darden owned and operated restaurants.

There are currently 31 Red Lobsters in Canada, as well as Red Lobsters in 44 of the 50 states in the United States.

Aside from its seafood, Red Lobster is also known for its signature Cheddar Bay Biscuits, one of the chain's most popular items. They are served only to patrons who order an entree. You may get as many as you want.

The ingredients in the biscuits include a preblended biscuit mix, not unlike Bisquick, and shredded cheddar cheese. After baking they are brushed with a combination of "liquid buttery sauce," consisting mostly of hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt and artificial coloring, and the same garlicky seasoning powder used in the chain's shrimp scampi.

One biscuit contains 160 calories, 9 grams of fat (51% of calories), 17 grams of carbs and 0 grams of fiber.

The biscuit was introduced in the early 1990s; prior to that Red Lobster served garlic bread.

Another dish that was largely unique to Red Lobster is Shrimp Scampi. Scampi is the Italian name for Norway Lobster and the term refers to a dish of fried Norway lobster. Red Lobster uses the name for shrimp cooked in oil and garlic (see cheddar bay biscuits above). In fact, dishes called "Chicken Scampi" and "Scallop Scampi" have been seen. The dish has been widely copied, often with the same name.

• On The Boondocks animated series on Adult Swim, the character of Granddad takes a female friend, who is in reality a prostitute, to Red Lobster, much to the chagrin of his grandson Riley Freeman, who mentions the "cheddar biscuits."
• Deceased stand-up comedian Richard Jeni had a bit (on his Greatest Bits CD) about Red Lobster.
• New York Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas loves Red Lobster, once even greeting Jim Rome on Rome's program, The Last Word with, "I just got back from Red Lobster."
• On the reality show, Flava of Love, Flava Flav took one of the girls to his favorite "romantic" spot. Little did she know that that spot was Red Lobster. She was disappointed.
• Futurama poked fun at Red Lobster in the episode A Taste of Freedom, by referring to Zoidberg (a lobster-like alien) as "a Red Lobster that won't ruin your dinner."
• In 2003, Red Lobster's "endless crablegs" promotion resulted parent company Darden Restaurants taking a $US 3 million charge to 3rd quarter earnings and the alleged firing of CEO Edna Morris. The ill timed promotion was launched amid high wholesale crab legs prices. The chain also underestimated how many times guest would order more. (Newton, Benita. "All-you-can-eat was too much", St. Petersburg Times, 2003-10-26.)

• Red Lobster USA website
• Red Lobster Canada website
• Red Lobster Japan website