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seafood

Red Lobster: Feast on This

October 30, 2011 By Lena

I’m a bit of a seafood snob.

I usually like to prepare it myself, finding that few people can achieve the proper flavour and texture that elevates the cuisine from ordinary to orgasmic. Instead, I’ve come across too many seafood blunders, including overcooking, overseasoning or – gasp – overthinking the dish. Tsk tsk.

And so I tend to order fruits de mer strictly from Michelin-starred restaurants, where paying $42.50 for an entrée is a surefire way to ascertain the food will arrive perfectly poached, pan-seared or Provençal.

I warned you. (Don’t worry, I can hardly stand myself.)

But for all my airs and expectations, I have a little secret… when it comes to enjoying seafood that is tasty, affordable and available without jetting off to London, I really, really love Red Lobster.

My first real date was at Red Lobster; my boyfriend at the time (it’s totally a high school romance when your “boyfriend” takes you on a first date after he’s your boyfriend) surprised me with a fine lobster dinner for my 17th birthday. At the time, I thought it was the most delicious meal I’d ever had in my entire life. And over the years, I popped in and out of Red Lobster, always for the mixed bag of seafood, and usually when there was an endless shrimp promo :)

But somewhere along the way, I lost touch with the brand and it had been many years since I indulged in their varied menu of surf and turf. So when contacted by Red Lobster to check out one of their new, redesigned restaurants, I figured it was time to decide once and for all if my palette – which had changed drastically since I was 17 – could indeed find room for a Red Lobster recommendation….

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Filed Under: Food Tagged With: GTA, Red Lobster, restaurant, review, seafood

Lena Loves… Bento Sushi

December 6, 2010 By Lena

Back when we were dating, hubby and I officially declared Friday night as “Sushi Night“. We’d visit our favourite Japanese restaurants, grab a delectable takeout spread and a movie rental, or try our hand at rolling our own (I think we tried this once and failed miserably; although I usually fail to mention this when I say “oh yeah, I can make homemade maki”).

We continued this tradition when we were married, but all too soon I was pregnant with Ryder and had to say bye-bye to my beloved sushi. But as soon as the morning sickness faded, I developed insatiable cravings for the fresh little cubes of seafood goodness. Then one fine day, while grocery shopping at Loblaws, Mike stopped by the Bento counter and said, “Surely you can eat California rolls?” And that, my friends, was a poignant moment in time – for me it signaled the beginning of weekly (or more) Bento fixes, and for Mike – well, let’s just say that someone had to grab the yummy rolls at 10:58pm.

Today, I’m still hooked. Fresh, convenient and always delicious, Bento products are the answer to sushi on demand.

“As the largest sushi company in Canada, Bento serves more than 10 million handmade servings of sushi per year through a network of 22 quick service ‘grab and go’ sushi bars in premier shopping malls and office towers; more than 350 on-site sushi bars in quality supermarkets and more than 2,000 supermarket and institutional food service locations. The brands which the company’s products are known by include: Bento, Bento Express and Bento Sushi.”

Click here to view Bento products.

Recently, Bento celebrated its 15th anniversary and delivered on its promise to become the first sustainable sushi company in the country. Working in partnership with the SeaChoice program, Bento plans to supply only sustainable seafood by 2012.

“We want our customers to have an authentic, nutritious, and safe sushi experience that supports healthy oceans,” says Carl Sparkes, President and CEO of Bento. “Our mission is to deliver great sustainable sushi to Canadians anywhere, anytime.”

What is SeaChoice?

SeaChoice is a joint initiative of the the David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Ecology Action Centre, Living Oceans Society and Sierra Club British Columbia. Bento has already switched 65 per cent of its product offering to sustainable fish and seafood. It has also replaced its unsustainable red-listed tuna with sustainable troll-caught Albacore tuna from the Pacific Northwest. SeaChoice labels will appear on Bento products that meet sustainability criteria and have been ranked by SeaChoice through science-based assessments.

Love it. A company that produces delicious, high quality food while keeping a conscience. It’s vitally important for us to consider the impact we have on our oceans and the (often yummy) species that live in them – isn’t it wonderful to know that you have a choice? And that Bento makes it easy to make the right one?

To celebrate their partnership and quest for “healthy choices, healthy oceans”, Bento made a most welcome delivery to our home last week – three party boats packed with delectable Salmon Sushi, California Rolls and Assorted Maki! 

We sat down with friends, cracked open the sake and enjoyed fresh, beyond tasty food which Bento is famous for. I am constantly amazed at the quality of both the seafood and trimmings, and as expected, their traditionally generous portions and bright, bold flavours were appreciated by all. Thanks Bento!
BUY IT!
With more than 2,000 locations across Canada, you can enjoy Bento sushi… RIGHT NOW. Seriously, yummy sushi is at your fingertips. And even though my pregnancy cravings are over, Bento’s 2 for $10 California rolls are our snack of choice, and a ” must grab” on every grocery run!

WIN IT!

Now you know I wouldn’t just tease you with all this delicious food, right? Bento has generously offered one Listen to Lena! reader the chance to win a Bento prize pack, including a deluxe sushi platter, cooler and Bento jacket (value $125)!


To enter, simply visit Bento online and pick out three (3) of your favourite products – then leave a comment here, telling us what they are.

You can also qualify for extra entries! Remember, you must leave a separate comment for each. You can:

(1) Follow my blog, Listen to Lena!
(2) “Like” Listen to Lena! on Facebook
(3) Tweet about this giveaway (tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/2cknsg6)
(4) You may Tweet daily.


I’ll be drawing for a winner on Monday, December 13th – lots of time for the winner to wow guests at holiday parties! Good luck everybody!

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: Bento, contest, seafood, sushi

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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