I had spent the day working the opening shift at the store.
That’s 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., helping customers, hustling paint, stocking shelves, whatever it takes.
My dear wife Karen worked her equally tough day in the advertising department at SMG, making sure her many and varied tasks are done right and well.
15 + 15 + 15 = almost the whole check.
When I pulled out of the driveway of the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood to navigate the 15 miles northwest and arrive in plenty of time for my starting time, I thought that night was bringing an after-work bowling party and finger foods with some of our friends who work with Karen.
When I got in my car to return home, I checked my phone and saw a text from dear wife saying that outing had been canceled.
I suggested we use the Christmas gift cards given to us from terrific daughter Elisabeth and great boyfriend George Three for a trip to Red Lobster. Good replacement date, Karen said when she entered our side door past happy Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, because it’s Lobsterfest time.
Yum, yum and yum.
So here’s what I order after a shift at the store. The Lobster Lover’s Dream, lobster three ways with biscuits and a salad (already eaten by the time I took the picture) did, indeed, meet my appetite’s needs. Maine, split. Rock, meaty. Linguini Alfredo, lobster with shrimp mixed in. Fries as the side. Vanquished by fork, no rush.
Yum.
The Lobsterfest specials, though, we’re all too much in my dear wife’s eyes. Her query to our waiter about ordering a side Maine tail that’s usually requested as an add-on to another meal, with one side, was answered to the affirmative. Karen picked sweet potatoes. She loved the split tail, and said the potatoes tasted like pie, in a good way.
Good thing Karen was willing to wait patiently after she was done, huh?
We went home filled, both of us, and happy about our Christmas gift.
What’s your usual lobster preference? What sides would you order? How long do Christmas food gift cards last in your house?
Mark Bialczak 
YUM! I love making Lobster!
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I bet you make it tasty, Nancy. ❤
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I do!
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Wow – that looks so good, makes me want lobster for breakfast!!! I am often bad about stockpiling gift cards, though restaurant gift cards will go fast around here. I still have 2 to B&N from Christmas I have to use. Enjoyed the post, though I Know Red Lobster isn’t open around here for at least another hour & a half 😉 Oh, & those boils Paul was talking about – we do those here often – with shrimp and especially crawfish (when it’s in season)!!
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Funny thing — peculiar, not ha-ha — Sadie, is that as much as I love lobster and shrimp, I do not like crab or crawfish one darn bit. Go figure!
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It’s almost unTexan not to like crawfish around these parts LOL!!!
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And crawfish are A LOT of work!!!
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Tiny little heads that they have to suck out. Ew. That’s all I’ll say, Sadie.
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That pic makes ME hungry!
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So much food, they had to shoo me from the table, Anna. :-)Z
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Dude, we totally ate at Red Lobster last night. We had stuffed mushrooms, clam chowder, Caesar salads, crab legs, shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, asparagus, and rice. We had half our lobster tails, but Sadie had the other half. We ate at 5, and ten hours later we still weren’t hungry lol 😛
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Now that’s now you take advantage of a trip to the Red Lobster, Joey. Full-filling experienced. 🙂
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Love that you spontaneously suggested something else when your plans fell through and that you were both filled at the end of your date Mark. I love those Christmas gifts you can tuck away and enjoy later on. ❤
Diana xo
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That looks like a meal that requires a postprandial nap!
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Yes, what you said, SD! 😉
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Those seasoned crabs always trumped lobster for me, for some reason. Maybe it’s about the spices. Always enjoy those gift cards, but ours often come from Barnes & Noble…where the food is not as good !
Your lobster platters look amazing, Mark. And oh…those Red Lobster biscuits. ☺
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Yes, the biscuits, too. 🙂 B&N cards are not for the cafe, much, Van, reading between the lines. ❤
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Ooh, it looks delicious, Mark!
We spend a lot of time in Maine, so we have a fair bit of cheap lobster (as low as $3 a pound, sometimes). But we take it to our house and boil them up ourselves. But first we race them across the walkway.
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Lobster racers! I fear that would make me too attached to cook the little devils, Elyse. 😮
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Not at all. They aren’t too cuddly.
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omg, i love lobsterfest. lobster is one of my very very very favorite foods. i have never met a lobster that i didn’t like. as for gift cards, they usually don’t last too long around here, i get very excited to use them, and have absolutely no discipline when it comes to saving them.
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Our kids give us both gift cards for all occasions, so we stockpile, Beth, not wanting to go out toooooo often. Right. 🙂
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Ahhh, lobster. I’ll be quite honest Mark, I seldom eat lobster in a restaurant – and have rarely had it since I moved from the coast. BUT….when I lived on the east coast we used to have lobster feeds on a regular basis. You gather a group of good friends, either in the yard or on the beach. This is a BYOB affair. You dispatch (generally earlier in the day) two folks to the docks to meet the fishermen in season. You buy 30 or 40 pounds of live lobster and haul them to the party (at $5 per pound a good deal for a party of 10). You bring a giant cook pot half full of water to a boil, and then you drop the lobsters in head first. When they have turned bright red, you remove with tongs and place on chinet plate . Generally there is another pot with corn cobs boiled or potatoes mashed or baked or some such veggie. Melt about 4 pounds of butter and give each person a bowl of melted butter. Distribute bibs and tools – if you are short of the culinary tools, you can easily sterilize and use real vice grips, hammers, pliers, awls, etc. Provide a big garbage bag at each table. When one big pot is empty, 1/4 fill with water and heat. Add dish soap and when done with tools add to pot. Wipe, rinse and place clean tools on clean table. Dispose of all chinet plates and shells in garbage bags. Note: When tired of lobster this same process can be used for crab. Sit around and drink adult beverages and solve the problems of the world. (Warning: if kids are involved, do not allow them to name the lobsters before cooking – this can lead to major issues.) Ha!
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I have a word for this ritual, Paul. Paradise! Sign me and my dear wife Karen up, indeed! I’ll do the cracking for both of us. I’m getting good at it, having learned on our vacation trips to the pretty little cottage on Cape Cod, where I now faithfully order a reasonably priced whole lobster at the rustic Sesuit Harbor Marina cafe. 🙂
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Yum!
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Glad you enjoyed your Lobster Feast! Gatorette
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I know, I know, Cheryl. You make it much better. Someday I hope to break bread with you all down there!
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Yes, my Seafood Market has Lobsters very reasonably priced-6-8 ounces less than $7/each…. can’t beat that with a stick Mark.
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That’s fantastic, Gatorette! When by the shore, you get the real deals! ❤
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Very true-have a great Saturday!
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