A first-timer pays a visit to Red Lobster

You may find this hard to believe, but I've never stepped foot inside a Red Lobster restaurant.

There's no reason for it. I love seafood, any and all.

So last week, I took our reviewing team to the Red Lobster on outer Arsenal Street, next to Salmon Run Mall. It's been there for a long time, and I've heard nothing but good things about the seafood served there.

The team convened at a small bar and was quickly ushered to our table by the new, young eager-beaver host. He was afraid if he didn't seat us right then, we might not get a seat — it was that busy on a weekday night.

First impressions are important. Our silverware was wrapped in cloth napkins — none of that paper napkin stuff with the green paper band around it. A card on our table planted the seed for their new wood-fire-grilled fish. Our waitress was there at just the right time with menus — regular menus and specials menus.

It appeared service could be swift, if we wanted it that way. Some people get impatient if they can't get in an out of a restaurant in less than an hour. For us, dining out is a time to relax and enjoy good company and conversation.

As soon as Samantha caught on to our pace, she was right there with us.

Waitresses are introduced as "seafood specialists." As we were about to find out, Sam not only knew her seafood, but also knew exactly how a waitress should perform.

She started us out with a basket of Red Lobster's tasty signature biscuits, lighter than traditional baking powder biscuits, a little garlicky, a little salty, a hint of cheese and just a little greasy — no butter necessary.

Appetizers were original and flavorful, prepared and presented just right. Just right portions, too.

Peach-bourbon barbecue scallops ($9.25), a spin on bacon-wrapped scallops, are cooked on the wood-fire grill. The scallops were sweet and tender. The bacon was cooked perfectly, as were the scallops, remaining moist and succulent. And oh what a tasty peach bourbon sauce.

The scallops were set atop a bed of small, crispy onion rings that reminded us of onion "straws," along with a touch of pico de gallo, a relish of finely chopped tomato, onion and jalapeno peppers.

Mango-jalapeno shrimp skewers ($8.25) had just the right mix of sweet and zing, presented over the onion rings. There were three skewers filled with relatively smallish shrimp snuggled together on the wooden sticks, beautifully cooked on the wood grill.

Stuffed mushrooms ($7.99) were wonderful — small, fresh mushrooms filled with ground lobster and crab, smothered in Monterey Jack cheese and baked till golden brown. The balance of all the flavors was just right.

Here's a new one: lobster nachos ($9.25). What a pleasant surprise — crisp tortilla chips topped with langostino lobster meat, cheddar and Jack cheeses, sour cream, a touch of pico de gallo and just the right amount of jalapeno peppers.

So you're thinking, "What the heck is langostino lobster meat?" In retrospect, we should have asked Samantha the Seafood Specialist, but Wikipedia explains that it's not true lobster meat at all, but rather a different type of crustacean most closely related to the hermit crab. A little misleading, but perfectly legal, rubber-stamped by the FDA.

And really, who would order hermit crab nachos?

Salads come with the meal and are served on chilled plates. Garden salad had mixed greens with cucumber, shaved carrot and sliced Roma tomatoes. Institutional ranch dressing was fine. Caesar salad was a little heavy on the dressing, otherwise nicely presented torn romaine with shredded Parmesan on top.

There are lots of entrée choices on the regular menu: shrimp, lobster, crab, flounder, salmon — even chicken and steak. So we decided to stick with that menu, rather than the specials menu.

Wood-grilled scallops, shrimp and chicken ($16.25) was delightful. The seafood and the chicken were cooked perfectly; the subtle smoky flavor from the grill added an interesting dimension. Even the bed of fluffy wild rice pilaf underneath was moist and flavorful, with just a hint of garlic.

There's a "create your own feast" portion of the menu where you can choose from nine different items — two for $15.50 or three for $19.50.

We did a trio: garlic-grilled jumbo shrimp, jumbo coconut shrimp and "Walt's favorite" shrimp. Other than the shrimp not being exactly jumbo in our opinion, they were done up right, garlic-grilled and bursting with great flavor. Coconut shrimp were breaded along with shredded coconut and deep-fried, served with pina colada sauce. Walt's favorite was plainly breaded and served with cocktail sauce.

There was a lot of food here, enough left to box up and take home for lunch the next day.

Seafood from "Today's Fresh Fish" menu is available in full and half portions. We got the full portion of trout ($19.49). The trout was boned, butterflied and served skin-side down, sans head. We had it prepared on the wood-fire grill as opposed to blackened. We chose one of the optional accompaniments, shrimp bruschetta topping, which accounted for $2.50 of the price of the dish.

Whoever does the cooking on the grill really knows his or her stuff. Cooking trout is a challenge to begin with, let alone grilling it. But it was cooked perfectly, not dried out in the least bit, flaking away from the skin with the touch of a fork.

We chose broccoli for a side and received a large portion, nice color and texture.

We had to try one of their steaks, so we went with peppercorn sirloin and shrimp combo ($17.75). And we kicked it up by adding creamy langostino lobster mashed potatoes for an additional $2.50.

The steak was seemingly marinated first, then expertly cooked on the wood grill, its juices flowing all over the plate as you cut into it. We were impressed. It came with regular mashed potatoes as well as the langostino upgrade. The mashed potato expert who ordered the dish was in spud heaven.

All the while, I was looking at her plate, thinking that something was missing. The kitchen forgot to send out the skewer of shrimp! But by the time we realized it, we were halfway through our meals and had eaten plenty of food.

We enjoyed a side of shoestring french fries that were not greasy at all, sprinkled with sea salt.

For dessert, warm apple crumble a la mode ($5.50) was very tasty and attractively served. Simple and effective. Chocolate chip lava cookie ($5.99) was more like a short chocolate chip muffin full of chocolate goo, topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. How can you go wrong?

Dinner for four cost $136 before tip and cocktails. There's an impressive selection of wine from Kendall-Jackson, Blackstone, Beringer and Columbia Crest. Same with the beer: Guinness, Amstel, Stella Artois and others.

Samantha was a gem of a waitress, always attentive, always smiling, clearing dirty dishes right on cue, patiently answering our many questions. She made our evening truly enjoyable. With a mere six months in the hospitality business, she has learned the trade well.

We were very impressed with Red Lobster — the food, the staff, the atmosphere — all adding up to a great dining experience.

You can contact restaurant reviewer Walter Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.

Red Lobster

20831 Route 3 (outer Arsenal Street)

Watertown, NY

786-1016

www.redlobster.com

Well-prepared seafood served by a well-trained staff — we were very impressed.

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday

11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

APPETIZER PICKS: Peach-bourbon barbecue scallops; mango-jalapeno shrimp skewers

ENTRÉE PICKS: Wood-grilled scallops, shrimp and chicken; "fresh catch" trout with shrimp bruschetta

DESSERT PICK: Chocolate chip lava cookie

RATING: 4 Forks