Here’s somewhat of a trick question. Would you rather have crab, lobster and shrimp dipped in drawn butter for dinner or homemade chicken and dumplings? I opted for the seafood one night last week and arrived home compelled to have a bite of the latter still simmering on the stove.

It’s not that my meal at Red Lobster wasn’t good, but there were moments of greatness coupled with moments of disappointment when it mattered most. My dining companion had never had lobster and I thought this was a good night to give Red Lobster a chance – but the that part of the meal floundered.

We arrived just before the dinner rush and were seated right away.

We began with the Parrot Bay coconut shrimp appetizer. The presentation of this dish did live up to greatness with six huge, batter-dipped coconut shrimp in a circle, rounded out with a fresh pineapple slice and two luscious green pineapple stems jetting off the plate. In the middle was a white pina colada dipping sauce. The shrimp was delicious on its own. The rum batter was light, crispy and palatable, the coconut abundant and the shrimp meat moist. The pina colada sauce, however, added an unnecessary sweetness that I didn’t enjoy. My dining companion and I agreed we would have preferred something with tanginess or even cocktail sauce.

Red Lobster has a host of promotional meals right now and splitting the ultimate feast seemed like the best way to try almost all the high-end seafood Red Lobster has to offer. It comes with a Maine lobster tail, crab legs, shrimp scampi and something called Walt’s favorite shrimp. Walt’s shrimp are lightly battered, dusted with seasoning, medium-sized and butterflied. If you like battered shrimp (sans the coconut this time), I’d say that Walt knows what he’s talking about.

Where Red Lobster fell short for me was the lobster, crab and the over-cooked, bitter broccoli. The lobster tail was small, chewy and lacked any seasoning. The lack of seasoning might be acceptable for higher quality lobster tail, but in this case the butter alone was not enough to overcome the density in texture and flavor. A drizzle of seasoning may have had both a calming and an enhancing effect. The crab legs were oversteamed, lacked any flavor and were so watery the meat would not stay on the specially designed seafood fork long enough for me to dip it. Instead, it fell floating into the butter and I had to fish it out.

Our meal came to a little over $40, with a well-deserved tip, which seemed steep to me for one appetizer, one meal and nothing from the bar except soft drinks.

Our waiter was attentive and fun, engaging in our banter, which always makes eating out an entertaining experience as well. A pet peeve of mine, however, is when the one dish arrives right on top of another; in this case the salad came just 30 seconds after the appetizer. In a restaurant like this, I expect somewhat of a dining &#8220experience” and like to savor each course on its own. It didn’t help that the salad was standard (fresh tasting tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, a variety of lettuces), with a balsamic vinaigrette that was adequate but, again, not great, which took away from my coconut shrimp experience.

Red Lobster has the most extensive seafood menu in town and I know I’ll visit again. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed their pasta and seafood combinations in the past and love their cheese dinner rolls, but I wasn’t impressed with their high-end seafood this week.

Red Lobster

2525 Scottsville Road

782-9500

www.redlobster.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sun. to Thurs., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri. and Sat.

Cuisine: Seafood

Price range for dinner: $7.99 to $21.99

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: Yes