I admit Im a sucker for free trinkets. I buy my cereal depending on what prize is inside. Imagine my thrill when my ALotta Colada at Red Lobster came with a strand of red plastic beads with a red lobster attached. Of course, it didnt hurt when our server brought the drink and had to carry it with both hands. It was a humongous frozen Pina Colada (Red Lobster calls it mega-sized whatever it is, its huge!).Red Lobster always seems to have a crowd and this evening wasnt any different. We timed it right, though, and were greeted and seated immediately. Its a big restaurant but with lots of partitions and decorative tricks to break it up into smaller areas. As you can imagine, they go to extremes with the fish dcor even the wait staff have fish and lobsters on their shirts. The evening we ate there it was Lobsterfest. We started with a regular menu item, because we liked the sound of the name: Artichoke Lobster Dip. It was an excellent choice; if you like artichoke dip, this is one of the best. It had artichoke and spinach in a creamy three-cheese dip with chunks of lobster and crawfish on top. Its served with tortilla chips and fresh salsa, which was excellent it had a sweetness that made it stand out from other salsas. Our server was unsure what the ingredient was, but volunteered that the cook who made the salsa was Mexican and may have had some secret ingredient. When we order an appetizer (almost always), one of our pet peeves is the server who puts in the appetizer order and dinner order at the same time. Invariably, dinner is served before we get a chance to finish the appetizer. Our server at Red Lobster gets very high marks for not putting in our dinner order in until we were more than halfway through the appetizer. As we finished the appetizer, she brought some cheesy biscuits that were warm, fluffy and wonderful. For dinner we decided on the Rock Lobster tail, because it was a little smaller, with shrimp combination, and the lobster pizza. Both were excellent. The lobster is served with 15 breaded shrimp and cole slaw. The presentation was attractive with the bright red lobster tail split and the white meat just waiting there, ready for you to dig in. The sandy brown breaded shrimp were all standing at attention, tails up, ready to grab. The lobster pizza was an unusual but scrumptious choice. It was a thin-crust pizza, generously flavored with melted cheese, lobster meat, fresh tomato and sweet basil. I liked it a lot. The pizza was about 12 inches in diameter but, because it was thin, it was easy for one person to handle. Our server made one mistake, but her attitude and just the right amount of attention (without being annoying) made it easy to forgive her. Her mistake was she assumed we didnt want dessert. After I teased her about it, she explained that people who order appetizers usually dont order desserts. She was a quick learner. When we ordered the Bananas Foster Cheesecake, she said it was her favorite, and said, So the next time, I should say, The Bananas Foster Cheesecake is my favorite, would you like to try it? Like I said, she was a quick learner. Actually, the dessert was the reason I ordered a lighter dinner, because I knew there would be room at the end for something sweet. Little did I know how rich and delicious this cheesecake would be. Even though it was missing the toffee almond crisp as promised on the menu, it was still a great dessert. The cheesecake had chocolate colada sauce drizzled over it with two blobs of whipped cream on the sides. With meals like this, an attractive setting and an attentive wait staff, its easy to see why there always seems to be a crowd at Red Lobster. Sometimes the wait can be long, but it you have the time, its probably worth the wait. The reviewer is employed at the Daily News. He/she pays for his/her meals and his/her gym fees to maintain his/her figure. New restaurants are given an eight-week grace period before being reviewed. To comment, contact managing editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235. Red Lobster2525 Scottsville Road Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.Specialties: SeafoodCuisine: AmericanPrice range for dinner: $9.99-$19.99Libation situation: Full barSmoking: Yes