Add Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar to list of restaurant chain’s promoting American lobster this summer.
Launched on Tuesday, the upscale steakhouse chain’s latest menu item, Maine Lobster & Seafood Boil, taps into the nostalgia of vacationing along the Maine coastline. It’s the brainchild of Fleming’s Executive Chef Russell Skall.
“One of my favorite ways to enjoy Maine lobster is in a traditional New England seafood boil,” said Skall. “I find a large pot and fill it with market-fresh seafood, add fresh vegetables and seasonings, then boil it. If I were cooking on the beach or at home, we would serve it in the traditional manner — the contents simply spread out on a newspaper in the middle of a table for all to share.”
The Maine Lobster & Seafood Boil includes Manila clams, mussels and shrimp, along with corn on the cob, new potatoes and andouille sausage. It’s served in a bowl with buttermilk biscuits and coleslaw salad with tomatoes and mozzarella in an apple cider vinaigrette. A peach and cranberry cobbler is the dessert.
The item costs UDS 99 for two or USD 49.50 for one and is available through 15 August.
Fleming’s, which is based in Newport Beach, Calif., and operates 64 locations across the United States, is one of several chains promoting American lobster this summer, some for the first time.
Ruby Tuesday, one of the United States’ largest casual chains, with more than 900 restaurants nationwide, has rolled out five new lobster menu items in the past 12 months. Its nine-item summer menu features five lobster entrées, including Lobster Carbonara and Steak & Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese.
In fact, the Maryville, Tenn.-based company now sells more seafood than burgers, founder and CEO Sandy Beall told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview on Tuesday.
In addition to Ruby Tuesday and Fleming’s, Smith & Wollensky, Bugaboo Creek Steak House, Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse, Uno Chicago Grill, Ninety Nine Restaurant and D’Angelo Sandwich Shops are all advertising American lobster this summer.
Low lobster prices — the result of reduced demand due to the global economic downturn and increased catches — are making the crustacean accessible to more chains.
All Foodservice & Retail stories >