Marni Greene on Red Lobster's Potato Chip Shrimp

Here's a guest blog on Red Lobster's new Cape Cod Kettle Chip Crusted Shrimp from occasional FFD contributor Marni Greene, take it away, Marni, and thank you!

On Monday, my boyfriend and I got into our normal conversation about where to go to dinner.

“Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care.  Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t have a preference.”

“Just drive me someplace with food because I am hungry.”

And this is how we ended up at Red Lobster.

A month ago, I had told Glenn about the new shrimp crusted with Cape Cod kettle chips and decided to go with a dish that had them.  The important thing to remember about me is that I have bad luck with my food at restaurants.  This time it was my skewer of red shrimp with BBQ sauce came out with raw middles so those had to go back.  Thankfully, the rest of my meal came out cooked so I ate that while I waited for my replacement.

The kettle chip shrimp came out not greasy and crunchy.  I don’t know why but it surprised me how much they tasted like potato chips.  I really did not think that it would have that much of a distinctive taste of the actual kettle chips.  I would love to see these as a regular menu item.  The shrimp came with a green onion dip that would probably taste really good for dipping plain potato chips in.  I went back and forth using this dip and cocktail sauce with lemon in it and they tasted great with both flavors.  I would definitely get these again.

Happy National Onion Ring Day

Today is National Onion Ring Day, or depending on how many you eat, National Onion Rings Day. So get out there and celebrate by having some of the second favorite fried side, onion rings!

Some of the best I've tried are at Red Robin, Manny's, Sonic, Bahama Breeze, Zaxby's, Red Lobster, Square 1, Long John Silver's, and the much-missed Little Shanty. Where will you be celebrating?

Red Lobster Potato Chip Shrimp

Currently at Red Lobster, they're celebrating Lobster & Shrimp Summerfest. One of the dishes featured in this extravaganza is the new Coastal Lobster and Shrimp including "tender shrimp crusted with Cape Cod kettle chips to add a little extra crunch."

Potato chips also star in the new Cape Cod Shrimp and Chips, and that last one comes with fries.

You should always get the fries anyway, but don't forget the Cheddar Bay Biscuits, the real reason to go to Red Lobster at any time. Special thanks to Marni for hipping me to these meals.

French Fry Diary 716: The French Fry Dipping Sauce Poll Results

A long time ago, before I got sick in December, I started a poll here on the blog about what your favorite dipping sauce for your French fries was. In truth, I did it twice. The first time I was chastised for leaving certain dipping options off the list, so I revamped it, but I did keep count of the votes from the first poll and have added them in to the final tally. So now, the answer to the question - What is your favorite dipping sauce for your French Fries?

Overwhelmingly, the biggest vote-getter, with almost half the votes, was ketchup. So, now that we got the unimaginative folks out of the way, we can concentrate on the more interesting choices. But before we do that, let's eliminate those that nobody picked - sour cream and marinara. Both were made as suggestions to add to the second poll, but neither volunteer agreed that they liked them, so there you go.

Oddities that only a few folks voted for in the "other" option included specifics like T.G.I. Friday's Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and Roy Rogers BBQ sauce, both favorites of mine, as well as bourbon mayo or remoulade. I also like the peach bourbon sauce at Red Lobster, which got a vote as well. It seems that no matter how you slice it (or stir it), alcohol is popular in dipping sauces. Taking up the single vote end of the spectrum were also mustard, wasabi, tartar sauce, sriracha, butter, Arby's 'horsey' sauce, and just plain ol' hot sauce.

The next highest vote-getters were aioli and steak sauce, followed by ranch, another of my faves, sweet and sour, and the combined vote for peanut butter and peanut sauce. Next highest performers with 10% each of the vote are two more of my favorites - ice cream and teriyaki sauce. Then come honey, a frequently mentioned Asian treat, and curry, which I have every time I visit the British Chip Shop. Then came mayo and honey mustard, yuck.

The big guns, besides traditional ketchup of course, were cheese - The Bride's favorite, which comes in many varieties (perhaps fodder for a future poll), and my favorite, milkshake. The latter has recently come out of the closet as a strong contender for dipping. Second place went to UK fave vinegar and my personal favorite (tied with shake), barbeque sauce, and I would go along with those who specifically mentioned Jack Daniels and bourbon varieties.

So, do you agree? Did I miss your favorite and you'd like to get a late vote in? Feel free to comment below, I'd love to hear what you're dipping your fries in!

French Fry Diary 613: Birthday Goodies

I have a pretty important landmark birthday coming up later this week, and I wanted to talk about freebies, specifically birthday freebies from fast food and chain restaurants. For the sake of the blog here, I'm on an awful lot of email lists for these restaurants so of course I'm on their birthday list as well. I should add that there's a substantial lack of the favorite fried food for free.

Denny's is the granddaddy of these bad boys with their free Grand Slam breakfast on your birthday. You get two eggs, two pancakes, two sausage links, two slices of bacon - but no breakfast potatoes or hash browns. Sad. IHoP goes one better with a free breakfast that might just include hash browns.

Friendly's will give you a three scoop sundae, Dairy Queen does a Blizzard, Chili's a brownie sundae, and Cold Stone Creamery, Baskin-Robbins, Rita's Water Ice, and Ben and Jerry's all have ice cream in a cone or cup. Also in the cold club are Smashburger and Zinburger with milkshakes, and P.F. Chang and Outback both get you free dessert.

Sonic, Charlie Brown's, Red Lobster, Famous Dave's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Qdoba, and Fuddruckers play it safe and mysterious by saying you're just get a free gift. Maybe it's a watch? Hmmm… all I wanted was fries… Don Pablo's goes right for the wallet with the lazy birthday tact of a gift card.

Red Robin rules with not just a free burger, but also a side of those bottomless fries. Houlihan's gets you a free entrée, Johnny Rockets a free burger, and my friends at Cool Dog Café are good for a free hot dog. Hmmm… I'm thinking Cool Dog for lunch maybe and then Red Robin for dinner…

Random Tater Pic of the Day #153

Certain restaurant Twitter accounts are getting very very good at what's become known as 'food porn.' Burger King has been a fierce competitor, as has Red Lobster.  Here's one from the Outback.

And remember, you can follow my French Fry Diary posts as well as a whole lot of other stuff at my Twitter here.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #119

Friend and FFD enabler Marni recently went to Red Lobster and got the Crab Bake, here are her observations: "Got the Crab Bake at Red Lobster and in it are these crispy potatoes. Lightly crispy fried potato chunks." Thanks, Marni!

French Fry Diary 526: Trattoria Cafe, Holiday Inn

This was the first time we had stayed off property on a trip to Walt Disney World, and in truth, it was only the first stop on a lengthy but sweet vacation. While The Bride did her charity thing with Give Kids the World, we stayed at the Holiday Inn, Main Gate East, in the midst of an amusement complex.

We were across the street from not only a Red Lobster, but also a huge rainbow lighted tower that we could see from quite some ways away before we arrived. That would be the world's tallest SkyCoaster at Fun Spot, for those wondering.

The first morning, after a hellacious night of delays and driving aimlessly while the GPS was trying to find its way, I went to breakfast. In the Trattoria Cafe/Food Court there was a choice between Continental Breakfast and the Complete Breakfast. Anyone who travels often knows that Continental is code for cereal and do it yourself toast. I went for the Complete with hot food, 'cause you know, I wanted breakfast potatoes.

In this case, the breakfast potatoes were large diced natural cut potatoes. They were nicely golden brown though not crispy or crunchy as they might appear, but soft and succulent, with a slightly hot seasoning.

The problem was, while they were fried, and probably delicious while hot, these were only just warm, and that from the buffet style heat lamps that were on them. The good news is that they were buffet style, and seconds were hotter.

The bacon was good (but then again when is bacon not good?), and the waffle station provided a hot breakfast treat. All in all, not a bad breakfast. On a morning where I was not feeling my best after some rough travel, it was enjoyable.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #105

My friend Marni took this pic of the new Red Lobster onion rings at the Deptford NJ restaurant. She said they no longer had the crisp straw ones. These were a bit thicker, full onions and not chopped up. And of course, they were good in the peach bourbon sauce.

French Fry Diary 464: Olive Garden

Olive Garden is the quintessential Italian restaurant chain in the United States. There's very little on the menu that doesn't come with some form of pasta. So as you might imagine, being a catastrophically picky eater who's not really into pasta, there's not much for me to get there. Surprisingly though, they do have one or two items I really like, so yeah, I do dig Olive Garden quite a bit.

We actually used to go frequently, it was our default anniversary dinner out for quite a few years. We recently made plans for dinner with a couple of friends we hadn't seen in quite some time, and decided on Olive Garden, as we had not been in a while, and it fit one of the couple's vegetarian needs. So I figured, what better time to review their potato product?

First though, like Red Lobster, one of Olive Garden's best features is their bread, in this case, the Breadsticks. About eight inches long and an inch wide each, baked and buttered garlic bread sticks, these are a terrific start to ant visit to the restaurant.

Besides the Breadsticks, I normally get the mixed grill, steak and chicken grilled on a kabob with vegetables, including onions and peppers, all marinated in a rosemary glaze. Since Olive Garden doesn't have French fries (not even on the kids menu!) the mixed grill comes with Tuscan potatoes.

The Tuscan potatoes are lightly seasoned, sometimes peeled, and chunked potatoes which seem to be deep-fried crispy but not greasy. Perhaps they are baked, but baked to the point where one might think they were deep-fried. If they are, it certainly begs the question, why couldn't Olive Garden have French fries?

Either way, these potato chunks are very good, and worth the trip to Olive Garden for fans of the favorite fried food. A great night with good friends and good food. And don't forget the Breadsticks!

French Fry Diary 435: Red Lobster 2012

We've been doing this over a decade. Longtime friend Marni's birthday gift has always been dinner at Red Lobster, and this year is no different. Of course, the restaurant in Cherry Hill took some getting to, as our dinner fell on the first snowstorm of the year, one week after Hurricane Sandy hit. Not happy weather.

Slow start as we were waiting for The Bride to come from work. Luckily there were the wonderful cheese garlic biscuits to enjoy. I've said it before, and I'll say it again here, the bread things are really the only reason to come to Red Lobster.

I had planned to get onion rings as an appetizer with the peach bourbon BBQ sauce. I had looked at the menu online and was psyched. When it came time to order? All out of onion rings. No onion rings. Really? I waited eleven months for this, and all I got was an empty plate of disappointment. At least I, ahem, we, had bread things.

The fries were pretty much the same as they had been the last few trips here. The natural cut fries, a little over done, very crisp regular cuts with pepper and parsley. They were very good for dipping with the peach bourbon BBQ sauce or the maple glaze from the maple glaze chicken I ordered for my entree.

I might come back sooner but I suppose I'll definitely be back next November. Happy Birthday, Marni, from me and French Fry Diary.

Best and Worst Onion Rings

This will be the last one on this slant, I promise. Recently the Huffington Post did a survey of appetizers in chain restaurants looking for the best and worst in various appetizers. We've seen potato skins and French fries so far, this time, we have onion rings.

Yeah, that's right. The Huffington Post did this. Again. Just when I think I'm wasting my time talking about French fries all the time, an almost legitimate news source proves me wrong by going even more trivial. Talk about niche!

What bothers me most about the survey this time is that they have their facts wrong. They list T.G.I.Fridays and Applebee's as not having onion rings. That second one is odd because I have an Applebee's review in queue that includes onion rings. Friday's has onion rings, and although it's been a while since I've been there, I'm pretty sure Planet Hollywood does too. Research research! Chili's are definitely up there, as are Red Lobster's, but Cheesecake Factory's rings didn't look like that the last time I was there.

Anyway, if you're interested in the Huff Post's findings and opinions, the full article is here. Enjoy.

Best and Worst French Fries

The Huffington Post is currently doing a survey of appetizers in chain restaurants. The other day I covered here them looking for the best and worst in potato skins. Now they have reached the good stuff, the favorite fried food - the best and worst of French fries.

And yeah, that's right. The Huffington Post did this. Just when I think I'm wasting my time talking about French fries all the time, an almost legitimate news source proves me wrong by going even more trivial.

I really don't agree with their findings. Of course in any fry competition between the chain restaurants, it's a matter of lesser of the evils. They are essentially all lousy natural cuts except for a couple batter styles. No big shakes if you ask me.

Their goodness or badness depends completely on the foods that complement them, or what there is to dip the fries in. On that basis, I would go for Red Lobster as best. Huff puts them in fourth place. I guess they have never tried the peach bourbon bbq sauce…

Anyway, if you're interested in the Huff Post's findings and opinions, the full article is here. Enjoy.

The Best and Worst Potato Skins

Recently the Huffington Post did a survey of appetizers in chain restaurants looking for the best and worst in potato skins.

Yeah, that's right. The Huffington Post did this. Just when I think I'm wasting my time talking about French fries all the time, an almost legitimate news source proves me wrong by going even more trivial.

Now I'm not a real big potato skins fan, chiefly because the point is to scrape the potato part out (that's the part I like) and put other stuff in. Me, I'd rather have a baked potato, ya know?

Anyway, if you're interested in the Huff Post's findings and opinions, the full article is here. Enjoy.

French Fry Diary 247: Golden Corral

As a rule, I am not fond of buffets. They are either very good, or very very bad. There is the whole idea of several people possibly touching your food before you get it. And yes, I know, food is always touched before you get it - but you don't see it, and it's not other customers touching it. I know, I'm on the brink of OCD here, but the same-spoon-for-everything thing gets me too.

And then we come to Golden Corral, and hope that the above does not apply. Those of us in the area who regularly use Route 73 have watched this particular Golden Corral in West Berlin be built and gave anxiously awaited its opening. First of all, it's hard to miss, as the sign is gigantic, and can be seen for miles.

The buzz has been very good from friends and family about the restaurant and the food, but things being what they are it took a while to get there. A lazy afternoon with the in-laws and the promise of baby back ribs, and we were off to Golden Corral. Sadly, since the visit, we've heard that quality has gone downhill in the short time they've been there. To make matters worse, the baby back ribs we all saw on TV ads, was a special that had ended. No baby back ribs at all.

For a late Saturday afternoon they were packed but we were greeted by the friendly and helpful waitress Julia. The picky eater then trekked to the buffet to see what they have to offer. I ended up with a very tender steak cooked on a grill, a cheese garlic biscuit that looked just like the bread things at Red Lobster (not the same taste but still quite good), and something called "Steakhouse French Fries."

These were standard steak fries, probably frozen and baked, but hot and very good. With those kind of fries and this kind of place - hot is important. Also available were mashed potatoes, baked potatoes (sweet and regular), and tempura onion rings.

They had a lot here to choose from, almost everything except baby back ribs and chocolate soft serve. Still, it was quite good, and despite my initial OCD fears, it turns out the buzz was right. Golden Corral was pretty good, and so were the fries.

Postscript: Golden Corral makes up got its buffet reputation in the restroom department. No operational stalls in the men's room and no toilet paper in the ladies' room. I guess we won't be back. I can make steak fries at home.

French Fry Diary 214: Red Lobster 2011

This edition of Somebody Else's Fries comes from my gal pal Marni, my Red Lobster expert, who visited the Red Lobster recently and was treated to a new and different variety of the favorite fried food.

I'll let her take from here: "We went to Red Lobster in Delaware tonight and were seated after about thirty minutes. We were given our appetizer and we were also given a plate of these chips. They were thinly sliced potatoes and crispy. Some of them were slightly thicker and were not as crisp. The problem was that there was no discernible flavoring... not even salt. They were completely bland. I dipped them in the peach bourbon sauce to give them some flavor and they were pretty good. I enjoyed the crispness of them but they lacked any flavor."

Thanks, Marni, I guess I'll have to check them out the next time I hit the Dead Lobster.

French Fry Diary 196: Red Lobster Flashback

The following are my thoughts on the fries, among other things, at Red Lobster from around the year 2001. It's interesting how some things have changed, and some have stayed the same at Red Lobster as compared to my recent review.

Bread things... oh yeah, baby, the bread things.

That's the reason to go to Red Lobster. It is hands down the best thing to get at Red Lobster. The cheddar biscuits are amazing, and the best thing about these bread thing appetizers is that they are free. If you go into Red Lobster and order something to drink, get a few baskets of bread things, and then decide you really don't want to have dinner at RL, you don't have to pay for them, just the drinks. Cool or what? And if you show up for a late dinner, and are there when they are starting to close, you can get the waitress to give you the extra bread things to take home with you.

Ahem, anyway, this blog is about the favorite fried food, and not cheddar biscuits, no matter how good they are. Still, it must be stressed what the real draw at Red Lobster really is.

The fries at Red Lobster are long natural cuts with a light batter covering, crispy, but not spicy despite their orange coloring. I always get them as a side with my chicken. Yeah, I know, like bringing a knife to a gunfight, I always get chicken at seafood restaurants. The chicken is quite good, it should be noted, but the real treat is the sweet and sour barbeque sauce for dipping. This is so good, some of the best I have ever tasted, and if you ask nicely, your waitress will even give you some to take home so you can use it for your fries at home.

Including the extras - the bread things and the sweet and sour barbeque sauce - Red Lobster fries are highly recommended. Remember, come for the fries, but stay from the sauce and especially the bread things!

And that's the way it was. Check out yesterday's entry for how it is now at Red Lobster...

French Fry Diary 195: Red Lobster 2010

Everyone knows the real reason to go to Red Lobster. It's the bread things, the appetizer cheddar biscuits. At least now the folks at RL acknowledge this and are always on top of bringing more when your basket is empty. Unless you say otherwise, your basket will always be filled, and they even are cool about giving you a generous bag of them to take home afterward.

Now if only they would sell them in stores or to go. They could be rich. Bisquick has a biscuit mix that is similar (the Bisquick Complete Cheese Garlic Biscuits) and there are lots of copycats online, but nothing beats the originals. When you go to Red Lobster, don't forget the bread things.

My most recent trip to Red Lobster was for my dear friend Marni's birthday. Her birthday meal at Red Lobster has been a tradition for well over a decade, dating back to when the menu was completely different, except for the bread things. No matter, Marni and I are big fans of the bread things. She even brought me some when I was in the hospital after my kidney transplant - now that's a true friend.

Anyway, after emptying a couple baskets of bread things, like bringing a knife to a gunfight, I ordered a steak at a seafood restaurant. I ordered the steak mostly because of previous experience here (especially since they changed the menu). The RL folks find it impossible to deliver the maple chicken without the rice pilaf. It's like ordering a plain hamburger at Checkers - good luck.

Marni had told me about two items here she thought I would really like - the onion straws and the peach bourbon barbeque sauce. I got some onion straws on my steak. They were thin, lightly battered, and very good, just might have been better a bit crispier. It's too bad they are not officially on the menu as they are very good.

The current French fries at Red Lobster are natural cut shoestrings, a rarity but also very good when you can find them. I got a double order as I didn't want broccoli. I think it was a good choice. These were very good fries. I wish I could say the same about my raw steak, sooo not medium well. You can say I could have sent it back, but I'm paranoid and think it might have returned medium well, but also with an extra special seasoning as well.

The steak was saved however by the aforementioned peach bourbon barbeque sauce that came with Marni's scallops. This sauce had a very interesting taste, sweet and heavy on the peach, and managed to make the steak edible. Excellent for dipping with the fries as well. It should be noted it's also not on the menu. Maybe Red Lobster is working on its own secret menu a la In-N-Out Burger.

I was really kinda having a good time until the waitress spilled hot butter on my legs. I've been accused of being many things, but never a dead lobster. Hey, at least she didn't stand by while I choked like Winnie the Pooh did. Happy Birthday, Marni!

French Fry Diary 174: Johnny Rivers' Grill & Market, Orlando International Airport

Southwest Airlines always has their gates off the beaten track no matter what airport you go to. If you arrive at any airport, be assured that Southwest will be the furthest point from where you are. In an airport like Orlando, one so big that they need a train to get you to your baggage, Southwest is pretty far from any of the malls or food courts. What is close to Southwest's gates is a place called Johnny Rivers' Grill & Market.

This is a tiny little oasis squeezed between two gates with an unimaginably tiny seating area and an even tinier 'market' where you can order and purchase stuff like sodas, candy and peach barbeque sauce. It does smell really good, specializing in Cajun fare, with delightful pictures rather than a menu. Here I was, with lots of time on my hands, and a taunting picture of golden brown steak fries overhead. So I ordered fries and a Dr. Pepper (which was odd, isn't Florida the land of Mr. Pibb?).

Ten minutes later I got a very generous portion of shoestring French fries. They were very hot as they were made to order, and they were sprinkled heavily with salt and cracked black pepper that gave them quite a kick. Not bad for an airport snack, and I would have been more than satisfied had it not been for that teasing pic of golden brown thick steak fries on the menu.

This place really has no web presence. I did find numerous bad reviews of the food at this particular location. The chef Johnny Rivers (not the Memphis Secret Agent Man from the Poor Side of Town, it should be noted) is apparently also responsible for the menus at such myriad restaurants as Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, the Hawaiian Tropic Grill and Prime Minister Steakhouse. I guess he didn't spend much time at the airport.

French Fry Diary 132: Champps Americana, Marlton NJ

There has been a Champps within throwing distance of my home for over a decade, but I had never been there until a couple weeks back with a couple friends, Ken and Marni, both old pros when it comes to accompanying me on French Fry Diary expeditions. We also received a gift card in the mail that day - probably the only reason we went. It was that or Red Lobster that night. I kinda wish we'd gone to the Dead Lobster now...

Champps Americana appears at first glance to be a downscale cross between a Friendly's and a sports bar, and at the time we visited, dinner on a weeknight, the crowd seemed rather sparse. But you'd never know it from the service.

Upon perusing the menu I saw, that while other plates passing by showed Chick-fil-A-like waffle fries, Champps in fact had a choice of either waffle fries or steak fries. After quizzing the waitress I was told that I could not get both, a half and half selection of the two different kinds of fries. Curious. It had to be one or the other. Were the fries cooked to order in specific side-sized portions or was the waitress just stubborn? You decide.

The waffle fries as I said resembled those at Chick-fil-A but maybe smaller and perhaps with a splash of seasoning - but I'll never know. I was extorted into choosing, or ordering two complete portions of fries. I, feeling almost at gunpoint, ordered the steak fries.

We also ordered onion rings as an appetizer. I figured, get as much done as possible, because at this point, I was probably not coming back. The rings were big battered slices with lots of thick onion, in different sizes and very hot, served with a honey mustard sauce. These were actually very good, and the large size of the onion was a nice change of pace you don't see in many places.

The stubborn waitress turned inattentive waitress as we waited for our main course. I had an empty glass for most of the meal. She eventually came through late late in the game. Maybe I had ticked her off by asking about the fries. She didn't seem to want to get me any refills on my Coke 'til the meal was almost over.

The steak fries were slightly slimmer than regular steak fries and also natural cuts. There were also only warm, so they definitely could not have been cooked to order. These fries were soggy, a little greasy and seasoned unevenly. Not spectacular, like the only adequate burger, which was also only warm. A big disappointment. What am I going to do with this gift card now? I'm so not going back...