Red Lobster's Creamy Lobster Mashed Potatoes Aren't Entirely What They Seem

Red Lobster has two mashed potato options on its menu. One is a regular mashed potato, while the other is a premium and more expensive offering, called the creamy lobster mashed potatoes. Based on that name, you'd probably expect a pretty straightforward serving of mashed potatoes with Maine lobster meat mixed in, right? But, if you zoom in on the menu item info, you'll notice that it describes the dish as, "Maine and langostino lobster meat in a creamy lobster beurre blanc sauce over mashed potatoes."

Maine lobster is the one we all know and love, but it's the langostino lobster that's worth taking note of. That's because, despite still being a delicious ingredient, langostino isn't quite what it seems. Langostinos resemble small lobsters but are about the size of a very large shrimp. Langostino meat just doesn't have that robust shellfish flavor that lobster does (it's a little more watery and shrimp-tasting, in my opinion). So, if you're wondering why things seem a little suspect here, we need to talk about what langostino actually is.

Langostinos are related to the American lobster you're familiar with, but they aren't the same thing, although they are often referred to as "squat lobsters." If we're getting down to the nitty-gritty, langostinos exist in the same order and suborder as American and spiny lobsters but, when you drill down further to their infraorders they're more akin to porcelain and hermit crabs. The "squat lobster" title is basically an attractive naming convention that allows Red Lobster to still call langostinos "lobster," as long as it clarifies that it's "langostino lobster."

What's even more confusing is that the word langostino means "little lobster" in Spanish, too. It all feels like a bit of misdirection, but that's the magic of nomenclature and marketing combined. Chains like Long John Silver's have historically tried to take advantage of this "lobster" naming confusion and eventually got in trouble for misleading information. And, yep, Red Lobster also got dinged for this in 2016, when an exposé by the show "Inside Edition" revealed the chain was serving langostino in place of lobster without disclosing this.

So, the bottom line is that langostino is a cheaper ingredient than lobster, which means Red Lobster doesn't have to pay as much and cuts its costs. Again, that's not to say langostino is not delicious or useful in the kitchen. At home, you can use langostino as a cheaper alternative for lobster, plus it's great grilled. But, when you're out to treat yourself to something special, it's good to know exactly what you're getting, and in this case, you might not be eating quite what you think.