Though Caesar salads usually taste better in restaurants, this is not always the case. A Caesar salad recipe poses plenty of mistakes that can be made when the ingredients are mixed, and even store-bought Caesar salad kits aren’t always no-fail options. We sampled a variety of Caesar salads and came to the conclusion that there is one restaurant where you should not order this. After digging into 7 different Caesar salads, the one served at Red Lobster simply left us reaching for bread rolls.
We owe the original Caesar salad to an inventive chef who made use of ingredients when stock was running low. Since its 1924 conception, iterations of the recipe have wound up on menus, taking the core elements of romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons, creamy dressing, and Parmesan cheese and either reimagining the presentation or incorporating different ingredients.
Varieties in presentation and ingredients have led to discrepancies in terms of quality, and as we discovered at Red Lobster, what should be a promising dish can also be a major disappointment. Instead of crispy croutons, the pieces tossed into this salad were soggy and sweet. Even the Parmesan sprinkled into the salad lacked its characteristic bite, and the iceberg lettuce failed to deliver that crispness we expected. The dressing was plentiful but lacking in flavor and heavy on the salt. Thankfully, Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay biscuits were served on the side, and these fluffy pieces of bread made the meal.
Placing confident bets when dining out
Though Red Lobster’s Caesar salad lacked both flavor and texture, the cheesy rolls served with the order are made even better by generous coatings of a garlic-herb butter. We’re not the only ones in love with these soft morsels. “Finally tried Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay biscuits, and I’ve been missing out,” confessed one Reddit user. While the crispy exterior and the tender middle of these appealing dinner rolls have won over plenty of palates, the salad has underwhelmed enough customers to serve as a cautionary tale.
Red Lobster advertises crisp romaine, toasted brioche croutons, and a creamy dressing on its menu when describing this dish — and some visitors seemed to have tasted a version that was different than what we served, as they gave the dressing rave reviews — but for a basic, straight-forward order to be such a hit or miss, we recommend saving your dollars and opting for a more guaranteed dish when dining at this restaurant.
