I can’t stop dreaming about a perfect late-summer lobster dinner. It
began with a picture of lobster and avocado salad in the latest
Saveur—the sight of a whole orange-and-pink-speckled
lobster tail mingling with buttery avocado stirred something deep
inside me. But, as is often the case with dreams, fulfillment eludes
me.
I went to Sea Garden (509 Seventh Ave S, 623-2100) hoping to
have fresh lobster with Supreme Soup Sauce, but budget constraints
prohibited spending the $80 the market demands. Then my friend alerted
me to Red Lobster’s new marketing campaign and, vulnerable, I find
myself inappropriately moved by Red Lobster president Edna K. Morris’s
explanation of the new slogan “Share the Love”: “It’s about an
emotional connection, with each other and about a connection to
seafood.” Amen. Perhaps when I’m feeling especially daring, I will hit
the nearest Red Lobster (4231 196th St SW, Lynnwood, 425-672-1137) for
some Love.
But here’s what will actually happen: Monday night I’ll splurge on a
fresh lobster from Mutual Fish (2335 Rainier Ave S, 322-4368),
which I will steam and eat sloppily while watching Two and a Half
Men and drinking cans of Olympia. My lobster dinner reality will be
way better than my fantasy. 
