This afternoon I went on my own little field trip – as my husband called it. Erica from Red Lobster had invited me to a media open house to celebrate the completion of the remodeled Pittsburgh Red Lobster’s. The new restaurants are modeled after Bar Harbor in Maine, and they are very quaint.
I must admit that I had never been to Red Lobster before, and I was pleasantly surprised. They had a lot of healthy options for us to try, and they were all delicious!
We had small plates of the following:
Peppercorn crusted salmon
Lobster pizza
Cherry-maple glazed chicken skewers
Mango glazed jalapeno shrimp
It was all fantastic, but I must say that the shrimp was my absolute favorite. We had a great time chatting with the executives of Red Lobster, including Michael LaDuke – executive chef & Food Network judge. If you guys have a Red Lobster near you, you have to get there soon! They have so many healthy dishes on the menu.
My mom came with me and we had a great time. Thanks for the invite, Erica! 
After the event, we headed to the mall because I can’t seem to stop wasting my life savings away on shoes.
That’s a complete joke, because I’ve never had a life savings. Unless you count the 200 shoe boxes in my closet. I do.
After shopping, the idea of driving in freezing rain in rush hour traffic was not appealing to me. We stopped for a cocktail and appetizer at The Cheesecake Factory, where I just about died and went to heaven.
Parmesan stuffed dates wrapped in bacon.
Whoever created this dish must know me, or peep in my window, or look at my jean size and know how much I love bacon. It was fabulous.
Now I’m home, safe and sound, cuddled up on the couch hoping to continue the Big Love marathon. Who needs sleep?
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Yummie eats- sounds like a great event. I have too many shoes…
What a yummy event! I wish we had Red Lobster in MA. My hubby doesn’t think they exist!
Ahhh, good ol’ Red Lobster… haven’t been there in ages! Use to go all the time when I was little!
it’s okay I waste my life savings at J.CREW…second is shoes though. dangerous.
i want a field trip please
I haven’t been to a Red Lobster in years. Must find one soon!
Maybe they’ve been reading your blog and created the appetizer just for you!
That is an incredible foodie event. I love bacon as well but have been weening the family slowly. Just so tasty!
Shrimp is a comfort food for me. I can have it everyday if I could.
how VIP of you to get invited to a media open house!!
Sounds like a great day!
I used to get the plank salmon with broccoli and a baked potato every time I went to Red Lobster (used to be once every couple months) – now I would need to figure something else out
i would not expect that from red lobster!! haha. i’ve never been..the pizza sounds good though!
the Lobster pizza would send me into GI shock from the dairy AND gluten.
and the lobster would shut my airway down. BUT in the day before i turned 23 and randomly became allergic to shellfish, I adored lobster. In fact, used to date different guys just so that at least 2-3x/week I’d be dining w/ a new dude who’d be buying me lobster tails out in posh restaurants. LOL but true!
Nice field trip. I used to work at the olive garden (while working as an RD yes, but it was really good money in Las Vegas…so I kep the job for 4 years part time…actually I had it before my clinical job so I didn’t starve to death until I got work in my profession…), well the OG and Red Lobster are both owned by darden, so I have eaten there before. I am glad to see these changes and some of their new options. Darden owns a great restaurant called Seasons 52, which started near Orlando as that is where Darden HQ is located. Seasons 52 is the best.
Such fantastic looking food! Those dates in particular, are making me drool over here. I have never heard of such a thing! I’m curious, did they have Bar Harbor Blueberry ale on the menu? It’s one of my favorite beers int he world! It’s DELICIOUS.
Sounds like a great event
Wow– that looks great! Can’t believe those are Red Lobster dishes!
OK, as if parmesan stuffed dates wasn’t awesome enough, they had to go and wrap them in BACON! *drooling*
My sister worked for Red Lobster for a couple years while in college. Needless to say, we found our way in to visit her a few times.
Now, I like her part time job even more… she works at Williams-Sonoma, and buys me great cooking gifts!
what fun!! how did you get invited?? I haven’t been to one in years, but it was a staple during college LOL
Wow. I thought Red Lobster was just a crap chain of restaurants. I need to check it out because the food looks great! Thanks for the heads up
Those Red Lobster dishes look great! Who knew?
I’ll admit that I’ve always been scared of sea food. But I’ll never turn down a trip to Red Lobster because of their cheesy, buttery biscuits! Not exactly healthy, but food that tasty doesn’t have calories. Same with cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory.
Glad to see Red Lobster has some nice options! I know my mom realy likes Red Lobster, maybe I should take her there sometime soon!
I love Red Lobster – reasonably priced seafood … my kinda of place!
Okay, now I think I need to go to Red Lobster. It seems like they’ve cleaned up their act since the last time I went (ahem, like 10 years ago)…
Yum! That looks awesome! I haven’t ever been to the Cheesecake Factory because I actually HATE cheesecake! Weird huh? I think it is because I don’t like Ricotta cheese (isn’t that what cheesecake is made from??)
Hi Jessica,
Say hi to your mom!
Thanks very much for spending the day with us! Great to hear you enjoy our new Mango Jalapeno Shrimp and Lobster Pizza, it’s one of my favorites. I look forward to keeping in touch and continuing to enjoy your blog
Best,
Erica
I love Red Lobster. Their biscuits are amazing! Do you really have that many shoes? Wow! I hate shoe shopping because of my big feet and I hate having my feet be uncomfortable. So I think I have a dozen shoes. Not even that many!