ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110002
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SERIES: on the menu - This is one of an occasional series on the restaurant
business in the New River Valley.
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
When asked "What is the primary specialty at Red Lobster Restaurant," general manager Josh Greenberg's spontaneous answer was "great quality."
He talked about quality and safety issues at Red Lobster. In fact, after being open just three months, the Christiansburg restaurant received a corporate silver medal award for outstanding food safety and sanitation.
Handling fish is tricky business. "Raw fish and meat should not be allowed to warm to more than 45 degrees because that's when microorganisms grow," explained Greenberg, a 1993 graduate of Virginia Tech's hotel and restaurant program.
With close to $1,000 worth of portable thermometers, the kitchen staff keeps fish and meats refrigerated, or under ice, at 40 degrees or less. That's the cool side.
On the hot side, there are temperatures food must reach before it can be served, and more thermometers to monitor that.
While all this is going on in the back, you can relax in dining areas in the front that are impressively cozy for a place with 179 seats. Partitions are arranged at various angles, and the rooms are laden with wharfside decor.
Barnboard, rustic beams, thick ropes and lobster traps give a natural warmth throughout. Partitions imitate fishing village shops with names like "J. O'Hara Packing Co." lettered on glass. A narrow strip of mahogany inlay on the oak tables lends a classy touch.
Red Lobster is the latest in a list of competing chain restaurants to open in the busy mall stretch along U.S. 460 in Christiansburg. It occupies a corner lot on New River Valley Mall's property adjacent to Ryan's Family Steak House.
Whoever designed the menu for Red Lobster knew well that we eat with our eyes. Vivid, colorful photos depict a New England sampler, shrimp cocktail, all-star trio, shrimp feast and other food and drink items.
Having ordered the sampler, I can attest to its looking as good as the picture, and tasting as good as it looks. Scallops wrapped in bacon are flanked by crab-stuffed mushrooms and clam strips. The all-star trio, on the other hand, is a nonfish combo of spicy chicken wings, mozzarella cheese sticks and fried onion straws.
The notion that "variety is the spice of life" was not lost on the menu designers either. Combination plates are not only offered, but you can create your own. A dual appetizer dish, for example, is $4.99, and you can choose three appetizers from a list of seven for $6.99.
You may select your own entree combinations, any two from a list of 11 items, nine of which are fish along with slow-roasted prime rib and herb-seared chicken.
Naturally, fresh fish is featured every day at lunch and dinner, often salmon, trout and swordfish.
It almost goes without saying, but ... you can also order red lobster. It's brown and live when you choose it from the tank in the front waiting area, but it comes red to your table. If you can spare a buck and a quarter, spring for the twice-baked potato.
Saving room for dessert is advisable. Raspberry cobbler, cheesecake, key lime pie and a couple of chocolate desserts will all satisfy your sweet tooth.
While Greenberg likes to brag about the food, he is just as voluble about the restaurant's beverages, several of which are pictured on the menu. Available with and without alcohol, some drinks include the glass.
The lighthouse, a blend of tropical fruit juices and optional rum, comes in a glass you can keep that's shaped like a lighthouse. Strawberry lemonade and a strawberries and cream drink, with premium vodka if you wish, are served in more of an hourglass-style glass, also yours to take home.
Actually, you don't keep the glass your beverage comes in, but receive a new one wrapped in paper when you're ready to leave.
Red Lobster carries more than a dozen brands of bottled beer and coming soon is their own signature beer called Red Claw. "We've recently increased the quality of our liquor to premium brands," Greenberg said.
Just in case you're still wondering about the specialty, well, it has to be shrimp. Greenberg said they served a ton of it the first week they were open. That's literal.
Two thousand pounds of the crescent-shaped crustacean in seven days. That's some specialty.
RED LOBSTER
Address: Peppers Ferry Road at U.S. 460, Christiansburg
Phone: 381-3760
Hours: Sun-Thurs., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
Specialties: Shrimp, lobster, fresh fish
Beverages: Full bar, specialty drinks
Price range: Lunch, $4.00-8.00; dinner, $8.50-19.50
Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, Discover; no personal checks
Other: Smoking: at the bar or in Thistle Room
Handicapped accessible
LENGTH: Medium: 94 linesby CNB