Best deal this side of Bangor, Maine

Ever since Red Lobster opened across from Northtown Mall , we’ve had trouble eating there. Lines, lines, lines. It’s like the old Yogi Berra saying, “Nobody every goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” But my brother loves his lobster, so we always make an exception for him, which we did earlier today.

And we may have found a solution to the wait-in-line problem: lunch. The three of us got right in, and the lunch specials saved us maybe $20 on a $50-some bill. My brother, as is his habit, ordered the most expensive thing on the menu — a pound and a half of lobster, prepared here by our waitperson Jessica — while my wife ordered a fish special and I ordered a Caesar salad with grilled shrimp.

So we’ll return to Red Lobster. For lunch, that is. My motto is, “I live in Spokane. I don’t have to wait in line.”