Red Lobster wasn’t having as much fun with its Lobsterfest as I thought it might have.

It seems to me that when you have a festival planned around the name of your business, there would be more excitement than we found. Actually, it could have been any day of the year, as far as I could tell.

I’ve been to Red Lobster and ordered a drink and gotten a little plastic necklace with a lobster attached. Don’t forget, people travel long distances to get those cheap trinkets during Mardi Gras. I remember when lobster used to be served with a bib, and they made a big deal of making sure a customer was properly attired for the lobster feast set to arrive.

They apparently don’t do that anymore at Red Lobster. If you’ve been there, you know they have a tank full of live lobsters in the lobby – supposedly so you can pick the exact lobster you want to eat.

Our visit to Red Lobster started off with the shorter than usual wait, only 20 minutes, which isn’t bad by Red Lobster standards.

When we were seated, we got a table for five (there were two of us) in the corner – the Captain’s Table, I called it.

I ordered a Sunset Passion Colada. Before all you men drum me out of the club, I’m too old to care what you think, I drink what I like – beer, bourbon, or froufrou pina coladas. It came in a tall glass and was a pina colada, but the top inch of the glass was topped with Red Passion Alize, which is a French cognac mixed with passion fruit and cranberry. It was garnished with a strawberry. I loved it, but next time I’ll order a draft beer just to keep my mojo in balance, OK?

The server mentioned the Lobsterfest last in her list of specials. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, just another day at Red Lobster, it seemed.

We ordered a ‘me-too’ meal. She ordered a live Maine lobster; me, too.

She wanted her lobster tail split and ready to eat; me, too. She wanted baked potato with butter and sour cream; me, too. She wanted raspberry vinaigrette dressing; me, too.

While enjoying our drinks, we discussed how it would be fun to pick out our lobster. We had often seen the tank, but had never seen anyone pick out a lobster. Our salad arrived and was ordinary – cold and crisp. Soon after we finished the salad, our server came by and we asked when we got to pick our lobster. We then learned that she had picked it for us!

Yes, we were disappointed.

The lobsters we ordered were in the 11/4 pound range, and served with the requisite tools. A small tool, like pliers, is used for cracking the claws, and a small fork makes it easier to get at the meat inside the claw and tail.

However, there was no bib, and my better half always says I wear my food well. Lobster is messy. They are boiled and the claws will hold water, so when you pick up a claw and crack it, there may be some splashes. Second, you can dip the lobster in clarified butter and drippage is a likelihood, so even though you may look a little goofy in a bib, they do come in handy. Lest you think I’m obsessing over a 10-cent bib, I’m not. I just wanted Lobsterfest to be festive.

A 1-pound lobster doesn’t have much meat, but what there was tasted very good. The claw meat is darker and fishier tasting, while the tail is whiter and milder. I thought the potato was on the small side; she thought it was the best baked potato in town because it was prepared with sea salt on the skin.

Since the lobster didn’t quite make a full meal for me, I added a dessert that was the highlight of the dinner. Apple Overboard is vanilla ice cream served on top of a warm pastry with apples with lots of cinnamon. The whole deal was topped with caramel.

It was excellent. She had vanilla bean cheesecake and raved about it and after ‘just a taste,’ I agreed.

It was not as festive an evening as we had hoped, but Red Lobster didn’t disappoint when it came to the food.

Red Lobster

2525 Scottsville Road • 782-9500

Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Specialties: Seafood

Price range for dinner: $9.99 to $29.99

Libation situation: Beer, wine and liquor

Smoking: yes

– New restaurants are given a six-week grace period. Comments can be sent to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff by telephone at 783-3235 or by e-mail at malexieff@bgdailynews.com.